


wrapped around you; wrapped around me

by desispacebi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Seo Youngho | Johnny/Qian Kun, Minor Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Minor Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Nakamoto Yuta, Minor Lee Taeyong/Moon Taeil, Pining, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, jaehyun continues to be the World's Best Boy, most of this fic is sicheng Losing His Mind over jaehyun, other 97 liners make appearances!, there's also crying. and snot.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-08 18:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18900550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desispacebi/pseuds/desispacebi
Summary: The thing with being friends with Jung Jaehyun is that at all times, one is viscerally aware of how perfect he is. Most of the time, people simply get used to it. It becomes fact. The sky is an ever-changing myriad of colours, healthy grass is green, and Jung Jaehyun was handcrafted by God herself, to be the perfect example of a human man.Sicheng, unfortunately, is only human, and despite having been friends with Jaehyun for over six years now, has not built up much resistance to his perfection.





	wrapped around you; wrapped around me

**Author's Note:**

> this was meant to be a 5k drabble – and tbh i doubted that it'd even make it that far, – and then as with most things i write, this spiralled out of control~ 
> 
> unbeta'd~

The thing with being friends with Jung Jaehyun is that at all times, one is viscerally aware of how perfect he is. Most of the time, people simply get used to it. It becomes fact. The sky is an ever-changing myriad of colours, healthy grass is green, and Jung Jaehyun was handcrafted by God herself, to be the perfect example of a human man.

Sicheng, unfortunately, is only human, and despite having been friends with Jaehyun for over six years now, has not built up much resistance to his perfection.

He had never really felt the need to. He didn’t think that their friendship would sustain itself, to be honest.

If you had told a sixteen-year-old Dong Sicheng that in the year 2019, his best friend, his ride or die, his chosen partner for the apocalypse, was Jung Jaehyun, he wouldn’t have believed you.

And for good reason.

It was the second year of high school, and Sicheng was the new transfer student from China. He could _barely_ string a sentence together in Korean, if at all, and Jaehyun was the class representative. So naturally, he was the poor guy tasked with helping Sicheng learn the ropes. Technically, Jaehyun was only supposed to guide him around for the first two weeks, but thanks to Sicheng’s magnificent inability at understanding and communicating in Korean, they gave him a period of a month.

For someone who _knew_ the amount of trouble he caused Jaehyun to go through every day, Sicheng expected Jaehyun to ignore him the moment that the month was done. Instead, on the first day of his second month in school, Jaehyun came and sat next to him exactly the way he had for the past four weeks.

Sicheng didn’t mind it at all.

The funny thing is, Sicheng doesn’t mind most things about Jaehyun.

Doesn’t mind the fact that Jaehyun can’t cook unless it’s to try and impress someone, or the fact that he tends to look for the positive in every situation even when Sicheng just wants to sit and wallow in self-pity, or when he does the cute thing with his nose, or when he makes the dumb jokes that barely get a smile out of him, but he can’t help but laugh at because he likes the way Jaehyun looks at him when he does, or when he just... _exists_ , for that matter.

What Sicheng does mind, is that in this very moment– he shifts to pick up his phone and looks at the time– at two forty something am on a Wednesday, he’s sort of having a crisis. – and this one seems unsolvable.

Because as great as Yuta or Kun are at advice no one really beats Jaehyun’s. Mostly because neither of them understands him as well as Jaehyun does. Except, how the hell does he call Jaehyun in the middle of the night and be like, “hi, listen, I’m having a fucking _breakdown_ because I think I’m in love with you?”

He exhales sharply through his nose, trying not to actually have a breakdown at the thought and all of it’s million and one possible implications, and pulls his phone from the charger scrolling through his contacts.

Yuta. Yuta’s disgustingly in love, right? He’s going to be able to talk him through this.

The phone rings for an unusually long amount of time before it’s answered. “Sicheng?”

He speaks without preamble. “How did you know you were in love with Doyoung hyung?”

“What? Sicheng, it’s two am.”

“You say that like you were asleep,” Sicheng points out.

“Fair point,” Yuta agrees. He does sound a little weird, though, and Sicheng gets it. He doesn't want to talk to himself at three am either. Except, it’s not like he’s going to call Taeyong for something like this; as much as he loves the older, he doesn't have the ability to listen to him wax poetic about Taeil for more than three minutes.

“How did you know? That he’s your end all, be all and the stars and sun to your moon or whatever?”

“I mean, I was always attracted to him, because he’s _hot as fuck,_ obviously,”

“Obviously,” he agrees dryly.

“But like, it’s who he is. He’s so charming, and good god, he's so blunt! And like, in so many ways he’s the complete opposite of me as a person, but sometimes you need that, right? That grounding. That base. And he’s steady. And sure. And I don’t know, I mean,” Yuta’s voice turns mushy, “He just… is, you know?”

Sicheng clicks his tongue, “that’s all really cute and stuff, but that’s not what I mean. I know you’re like pieces of the same puzzle or whatever, but like… how did you know it was real and not just a fucking weird fever dream?”

“Why… are you asking me this?” Yuta’s voice is suspicious. “Are you suddenly in love with Doyoung?”

Sicheng stares at the wall, unresponsive, hoping that Yuta will realise on his own, what a stupid question that is.

“I mean, that’s absolutely valid, because have you fucking seen the guy, but also, I’m about ninety percent sure that Doyoung’s on board with polyamory, so, to be honest, you’ve got a good shot.”

Okay, maybe staying quiet was a bad idea.

“I’m not in love with your fucking boyfriend, jeez.”

“Oh thank god,” Yuta sounds so relieved, it makes Sicheng laugh a little. “Then why?”

“Wondering if it’s time to abandon this life and move to… I don’t know, Malaysia or something.”

“Okay, and why?”

“Because I think I’m in love with Jaehyun...” He doesn’t know how the words come out so matter-of-factly, because he very much feels like he’s about to explode.

Or start crying.

Whichever’s worse.

“And _that’s_ why you decided to quiz me on my love life at 2 am?” Yuta asks, and Sicheng can hear the excitement in his voice. “That’s _so_ valid. So, tell me. Do you want date ideas? Or confession ideas? Do you want it to be like a Thing thing or just something super casual? What kind of vibe do you want to go for?”

Sicheng blankly stares up at the weirdly textured ceiling. “The ‘ignore and repress kind,’” he says, deadpan.

“Don’t you want to tell him?” Yuta sounds aghast.

“What, and ruin an almost seven-year friendship? No thanks.” He says, rolling to lay on his stomach.

There’s laughter.

“To be honest, I’m pretty sure Jaehyun’s in love with you too.”

Sicheng’s heart thuds in his chest. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking.”

He pulls the phone away from his face and stares at it. “Okay, you know what,” Sicheng’s voice cracks a little. “I’m done. I shouldn’t have called. Forget I said anything,”

“What? No, Sicheng, I’m just being optimisti–”

Sicheng ends the call and tosses the phone away, sighing angrily, blinking away the possibility of tears.

The _fuck_ is his problem? Like, sure, he’s gone and swallowed every dumbass teen movie or whatever, and sure, he’s in love with his best friend. But he really didn’t expect for Yuta to make fun of him like that. Like, him of all people. Especially because he’s usually the one telling Sicheng how life isn’t a movie and he needs to try and make better choices because things aren’t going to sort themselves out.

He sighs. Okay, maybe Yuta was trying to be optimistic. But that’s really not what he wants right now. He huffs and turns back on his stomach.

It’s fine.

_It’s._

_Fine._

He’s going to let it rest, and it’ll just go away. This is all just happening because Sicheng hasn’t seen Jaehyun in over two weeks, and he’s going through withdrawal symptoms. It’s fine. He doesn’t need to waste any more time on this stupid crisis than he already has, and he’s not going to sit here and pretend like it’s a real thing with any real potential. He has enough things to cry about without adding ‘unrequited love’ to the list.

It’s fine.

It’s going to be _fine_.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It’s not fine.

It’s not fine at _all_.

Because when Jaehyun comes back from his parents’ house and runs straight into Sicheng’s arms, the only thing Sicheng can think of is how easy it would be to dip down and kiss his best friend’s cheek.

He’s surprised by two things.

First, by the thought itself. Because huh, that’s a Thought, isn’t it? He imagines placing a kiss on Jaehyun’s soft cheek, maybe right on his dimple, and has to physically stop himself from blushing.

Because he finds that he likes the idea. A _lot_. There’s something in the pit of his stomach, and it pulls at him as though it’s a physical manifestation of how bad he wants it. Which, it doesn’t feel right that he feels it that strongly, because his little epiphany was just a little over five days ago.

And the second thing, Sicheng realises while he’s half listening to Jaehyun talk about his mom’s foray into multi-cuisine cooking, is that wanting to kiss your best friend, no matter where, is not exactly a very ‘best friend’ kinda thing, is it?

“–and she sent some for you. Just to make sure they’re fine, you know?”

“What?”

“Were you even paying attention to me?” Sicheng likes to think that Jaehyun is unaware of his kicked puppy look, purely because he absolutely refuses to believe that his best friend would use a weapon like that on this frequent a basis.

“Nope,” he replies honestly, “too busy staring at your beautiful face,” he says, and where usually it’d be a joke to tease Jaehyun about his many fans at university, this time, he finds that he’s not lying.

The smile he receives in return makes his chest swoop, and Sicheng realises, once again, that it is, indeed, not fine at all.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The problem with both, epiphanies and breakdowns, is that neither come with an advanced warning. So there’s no way of _really_ preparing for them. They show up, unannounced, wreak havoc on your emotions, and leave without so much as a ‘goodbye’.

So, obviously, the next time Sicheng’s close to a breakdown, it’s in one of their usual cafes, in broad daylight, with the added benefit of Jaehyun being only a few feet away from him.

As has become the norm over the past few weeks, Sicheng’s staring at Jaehyun again. And when Jaehyun smiles at the barista, his little dimple peeks out, and Sicheng feels something tighten in his throat at how pretty he looks. He calls on Ten, almost absentmindedly. “Hey, Ten ge?” He says, defaulting to Mandarin.

“Hmm?”

“Think I might be in love with Jaehyun,” he says, watching as Jaehyun talks to Jungkook. Jungkook’s slowly become their favourite barista. He’s fun to talk to, with what his ability to know the most popular memes at any given time, and sometimes gives them free cookies. Thanks to this, Sicheng can safely assume that they’re kind of friends now. Jungkook laughs, and Jaehyun follows, tossing his head back as his shoulders shake.

Sicheng wonders, what it’d be like to lean in and kiss him. Would Jaehyun’s ears get red? Would his eyes widen? Would he smile into the kiss?

“What?”

Sicheng blinks and turns to look at Ten. “Hmm?”

“What do you _mean_ you think you might be in love with Jaehyun?” Ten asks, eyes narrowed as he peers at him from over the top of his laptop.

“Uhh,” he starts. “I mean…” he scratches the top of his head, trying to see if there was another way to put this. “I… think I might be in love with him…”

Ten just blinks at him.

Before Sicheng has the chance to open his mouth to explain, a bag is thrown on the table, and Yuta slides into the seat beside him.

“How many times does the librarian need to catch you making out with your boyfriend in the stacks before she bans you?” Yuta asks, throwing his arm on Sicheng’s shoulders.

Doyoung settles into the seat next to Ten. “I’m pretty sure we’re close to the limit, to be honest,” he says.

Sicheng rolls his eyes, “I’m pretty sure she banned the two of you like, last year, but you just never listened.”

“Who never listened?” Jaehyun places the tray of drinks on the table, and sits on Sicheng’s other side.

“Doyu hyungs. They keep making out in the library,” Sicheng responds, snickering, as he passes the coffees around.

As he hands Ten’s coffee to him, the older looks at him pointedly, eyes darting to Jaehyun and back, his expression still sort of in disbelief. Sicheng’s lips quirk up in half a smile and he shrugs. ‘Later,’ he mouths at Ten, and the older nods.

“Weren’t they banned last year? I remember the librarian yelling at both of you...” Jaehyun pauses. “That did happen, right? Or was that something else?” He asks Sicheng, taking his coffee.

Yuta laughs, “She’s definitely yelled at us before, but not exactly for making out, if you know what I mean,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.

Ten throws a packet of sugar at Yuta, which lands square on his cheek.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It’s been around two and a half months since Sicheng realised that he’s in love with Jaehyun, and they’ve probably been the worst two months of his life.

“It’s like I’m _obsessed_ ,” he says as he takes a sip of his coffee.

“What do you mean?” Kun asks.

“Ever since I realised I have more than, you know,” he pauses, “strictly platonic feelings for him, it’s like he’s _everywhere_. I can’t stop staring at him.”

“To be fair, most of the university population likes to stare at him,” Kun reminds him.

Sicheng laughs, “yeah, I know,” he shakes his head. “But it’s not just that. Like, we’re all together, the whole group, right? And the whole time I’ll just look at him. I’ll look away for a few moments, and then look right back at him. Because...” he trails off, hands fiddling with the sleeve of his coffee cup.

“It’s like I can’t help it.” He continues, “no matter who’s in the room with us, my eyes would just drift to him. Like he’s my  _fucking sun_ , you know? And like, I’ve spent years with him, but these days he makes me nervous. And then sometimes just looking at him makes me feel solid. More grounded. And I just _constantly_ want his attention. I just want to talk to him. Or just sit together, doing nothing. Like... I just want to exist in the same space as him as much as I can? Like even right now, _I miss him._ ” He admits, a little hysterical. He’s not even sure where all of this is coming from, but he doesn’t think he can stop speaking now.

“I saw him,” Sicheng checks his phone for the time. “ _Three hours ago!”_ His reaches an unusual pitch _,_ “I saw him three hours ago, Kun ge, and I miss him.” He says, and all of a sudden, he’s hit with a feeling of hollowness in his chest. There’s a sting behind his eyes, and Sicheng doesn’t know how to handle that.

These days, he doesn’t know how to handle anything.

“I don’t know what’s happening, Kun ge. I really don’t. And... And he’s my best friend, you know? I can’t lose him. I won’t survive it,” His voice is choked up as he says this.

There’s a hand on his shoulder, and Kun leans forward to pull him into his side.

“I don’t know what to do, Kun ge.” He says, melting into his side. “It’s so stupid, and I think I’m going to _die_.”

He’s sure there was no joke in there, but for some reason, Kun starts laughing.

“What’s funny?”

“I’m sure you know my boyfriends?” Kun starts after his laughter’s slowed down into giggles. “The ones I love?”

Sicheng narrows his eyes, “you ask that as if you didn’t meet them both through me,”

“Right, well,” Kun continues, “the way you feel about Jaehyun? It sounds like you're describing the way I feel about Johnny and Ten.”

“Oh.”

Kun laughs again, “yeah, oh.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sicheng doesn’t like being That Guy™, but thanks to his choice of subjects, it was only a matter of time before he had to make peace with the fact that he is, in fact, That Guy™.

Which Guy™?

The guy who sets up camp in the library during exam week, and pretty much starts living there. Books spread around him, Sicheng knows he’s taking up space meant for four. His bag’s in the seat next to his, and his legs are propped up in the chair opposite him. He doesn’t remember the last time he slept for more than two hours, and honestly, he thinks he’s survived this far only on coffee and sheer willpower.

There’s no reason for his phone to be on silent, since most people know not to disturb him during exam week. Most people wouldn’t even bother, with what their own exams to stress about.

 _Most people_ are on mute anyway.

But then again, Jaehyun’s never been ‘ _most people_ ’, so when his text tone rings, a delicate twinkling sound, and his eyes still glued to his textbook, Sichent reaches for his phone, almost as a pavlovian response. He finishes the rest of the page, marking and making notes in his book before he clicks open his phone.

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : whr r u?  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : i hvnt seen u in 5 days :(  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : i miss u :((

Sicheng grins as he types back.

 **sicheng** : library. where are you? 

The typing indicator instantly appears.

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : whn wll u b done? :((

Leaning back in his chair, Sicheng rolls his eyes as he types back.

 **sicheng** : for tonight or in general? 

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : bth.

 **sicheng** : 3 papers left, and 5 chapters tonight.  
 **sicheng** : you?

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : oh :((  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : no exms, rmbr? 1 assngmnt lft.  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : did u eat?

Sicheng looks at the bag of walnuts he’d brought with him. It’s laying on the table, and he’s not sure how many walnuts are still in there, if any. Peeking in, he finds the bag half full. Confused, he pops one piece into his mouth, and immediately makes a face.

_Gross._

**sicheng** : not exactly.  

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : why r u like this?  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : im gna get u sm food.  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : wait.

 **sicheng** : you don’t have to.

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : too late im alrdy omw~  
 **class rep jung jaehyu** n: ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Sicheng puts away his phone, a smile playing on his lips, and picks up his pen, stretching his arms and neck out before settling back into his chair and continuing to work.

He’s on his second re-read of the chapter when a familiar backpack is dropped in the chair beside him. A pair of hands settle on his shoulders, starting to press down and dig into his tense muscles. Sicheng closes his eyes, and melts into Jaehyun’s warm touch. His head falls back against Jaehyun’s stomach, and he has to try as hard as he possibly can to not moan out loud. Still, he makes a keening noise and hums as Jaehyun digs his thumbs into his stiff pressure points.

“You’re really tense,”

“Tell me about it,” he agrees, eyes still closed, “the exam is worth sixty percent of my final grade, and the other forty is a stupid group project, so I have to make sure I do _the most_  I possibly can for tomorrow. Don’t have a lot of high hopes for the group project, to be honest.”

“Makes sense,” Jaehyun says, rubbing circles into Sicheng’s shoulders. His hands move from his shoulders, and he starts making long strokes on the sides of his neck, and Sicheng makes a small keening noise.

“If you keep this up, I’m going to fall asleep,” Sicheng says, sighing.

He can feel Jaehyun’s laughter against him, warming him up from the inside, and he can’t help the little pout on his lips when he finally pulls away. He watches as Jaehyun settles into the seat across from him.

“Turns out ignoring your assignment and hoping that some goblins will show up in the middle of the night and do them for you _isn’t_ the best way to pass university,” Jaehyun says, grinning, unashamed.

Sicheng shakes his head with a fond smile on his face. “Better get started then,” he says, rolling his shoulders and grabbing his pen, getting into work mode again.

“Yes sir,” Jaehyun says, mock saluting him. Sicheng has no idea why that’s so endearing.

They work together in silence.

After having studied together for years, there’s really not much to think about. They fall back into the same pattern they had in high school, and it’s as easy as breathing. They both have their books open, focused, and it’s comfortable.

Every once in a while, though, Sicheng glances over at Jaehyun.  Watches how his brow creases slightly as he concentrates, and how he taps his pen against the side of his head when he’s particularly frustrated. Notices how he plays with his nails when he’s reading, and the way he bites his lip when he’s writing down his notes. A couple of times, Jaehyun catches him in the act, and Sicheng pretends his ears aren’t burning a bright red as he smiles and goes back to work.

The next time he looks up, it’s in embarrassment– because he’s pretty sure the whole library heard the sound of his stomach rumble. Face flaming, he places his hands over it, hoping it’ll muffle the sound.

Opposite him, Jaehyun smacks his forehead. “ _ **Shit!**_  I brought you those dried apricots you like,” he says, reaching for his bag, and pulling out the packet.

Feeling the glare of a particularly rude student, Sicheng feels only a little embarrassed as he takes the packet and rips it open. “God,” he says, moaning as he takes a bite. “Is this was food tastes like?”

Jaehyun laughs at him and shakes his head.

As he chews, Sicheng looks at him fondly for a moment. As he’s about to pick up his pen, his eyes land on his phone, and he blinks as he sees that it’s a quarter to midnight. “Shit, how long have we been here?” He asks stretching his arms above his head.

“I came by at around eight, I think? Why, what’s the time?” Jaehyun asks, looking at his own watch. Jaehyun’s eyes widen the slightest bit, as they always do when he’s surprised, and he looks back at Sicheng. “What time did you get here?”

“Uhh,” Sicheng reaches for his bottle of water and drinks a couple of large gulps, as if just realising how thirsty he is. “Five, I think.”

Jaehyun whistles low. “Wow, that’s... A _long_ time,” he says, and Sicheng nods.

“I need to get this finished by tonight,” he gestures to his books, “but I think I need to eat some real food before my brain works again.”

Jaehyun nods. “Wanna go get some?”

“Yeah,” Sicheng nods, starting to gather his books and carefully put them in his bag. “Need a break from my own brain for a few minutes.”

“You should probably sleep for a couple of hours too, you know,” Jaehyun points out.

Sicheng doesn’t respond.

“You’re gonna pull an all-nighter, aren’t you?”

Grinning, Sicheng slings his bag on his shoulder. “Why ask if you know the answer anyway?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Bars are _noisy_ places.

There’s talking, crying, shouting, and a whole cacophony of sounds. It’s loud and crowded, and where usually Sicheng would feel uncomfortable, there are only a select few times a year where that he doesn’t. Tonight happens to be one of those nights.

Squinting, Sicheng isn’t sure what exactly Doyoung and Yuta are doing on the dance floor, but he’s not sure he wants to stare long enough to find out. Looking away, he takes a sip of his drink and hopes to god that the two don’t get themselves banned for public indecency.

Again.

Why can’t they be more like Taeil and Taeyong? The craziest that those two get is _maybe_ talk about their sex life in public. Which seems to involve the use of the word ‘kitten’ a lot. Other than that, it’s just excessive PDA. Like right now. Taeyong’s seated himself on Taeil’s lap, and the older has an arm around his waist. The two have their heads pressed close as Taeil plays with Taeyong’s hands. Occasionally, Taeyong would lean in to whisper something in Taeil’s ear, and the older would laugh. It’s like no matter where they are, they’re always in a world of their own.

Staring too long makes Sicheng feel like he’s interrupting something private.

He lets his gaze wander onto the dance floor, where Doyoung and Yuta are nowhere in sight. He does find a group of his classmates, though, all of whom seem well on their way to drunk. He doesn’t blame them, though. Exam week is hell and everyone deserves to celebrate after it’s over.

Sicheng ends up searching for Jaehyun, who’s gone to get another round of drinks, but his eyes land on Jungkook instead.

Their favourite barista is hovering near the bar, leaning into a blue haired guy as he giggles at another, shorter, guy with bright pink hair. The pink haired guy giggles and leans in to kiss the blue haired guy, and for some reason, instead of being disgusted with his friends’ PDA, Jungkook watches, looking, for lack of a better word...  _smitten_. Sicheng’s eyes widen, when the pink haired guy pulls away from the blue haired guy, and then goes in and kisses Jungkook.

Are they on their way for a one-night threesome? Are they dating? Honestly, Sicheng doesn’t care, but he likes being nosy.

“What are you looking at?” Jaehyun slides into the seat next to him with a tray of shots.

“Look,” he points over to where the blue haired boy is now kissing Jungkook and the pink haired one is watching with a smile.

“Oh!” Jaehyun says, “they finally worked it out!”

Sicheng looks to Jaehyun. “You know them?”

“I mean, not _personally_ , but the pink one’s Park Jimin, and other’s Kim Taehyung. _Hopefully_ ,” he stresses on the word, “they’re both Kookie’s boyfriends now,“

“And you know this _how_?” Wait. “Kookie?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s what his friends call him,” He says, passing the shots around the table to Johnny, Ten, Kun, Taeil and Taeyong.

“We? You’re friends?”

Jaehyun stares at him. “Jungkook and I have been friends since our _first year._ Why do you think he keeps giving us free cookies?”

Oh.

“Ah, right,” Sicheng nods, like he absolutely knew this information. He didn’t.

Jaehyun laughs like he knows this. It’s fond laughter. It’s kind laughter. It’s Jaehyun’s laughter, and honestly, Sicheng’s never going to get tired of listening to it.

Sicheng glances at the remaining four shots in the tray, and hands two to Jaehyun, and takes two for himself. If he’s going to go stupid tonight, he’s doing it with Jaehyun by his side, or not at all. “Ready?” he asks, and Jaehyun nods. They count to three before downing both shots and going straight to the dance floor.

 

The rest of the night passes in a blur of alcohol, dancing, and laughter. It’s around 3 am when they finally leave the club, and thanks to their laughing, and stunning lack of coordination, they end up going towards campus instead of away from it. Jaehyun nearly weeps when he sees the familiar white buildings, and Sicheng can’t help his hysterical laughter. Eventually, though, Sicheng has to take a hold of Jaehyun’s wrist and drag him with him towards the directions of Sicheng’s apartment.

(There was no point in going to Jaehyun’s because Johnny, Ten and Kun had disappeared a few hours ago, and the only place with a bed big enough for the three of them was in Johnny’s room.)

A few minutes into the walk, though, Sicheng’s hand slips from Jaehyun’s wrist and into his hand. Jaehyun’s hand feels nice in his. Feels comforting. Like safety. Neither of them lets go, and when Sicheng has to let go of Jaehyun’s hand to pull out his keys, his hand misses the warmth. There’s laughter again, slowing down into giggles as they toe off their shoes. Neither of them think to turn on the lights, and they stumble together in the darkness and land on the sofa together.

Sicheng waits for Jaehyun to make himself comfortable before quickly burrowing into Jaehyun’s side. “I’m going to sleep here,” he announces, grinning up at Jaehyun.

“Hmm, you’re comfortable,” Jaehyun replies, closing his eyes and putting an arm around Sicheng’s shoulders. “I don’t mind.”

He grins and stares up at Jaehyun.

He’s so fucking beautiful.

Sicheng really can’t help the way he stares at him. He lets his eyes rake over Jaehyun’s face, tracing over his features. His face, an angled squarish oval, his eyes, small, but round, his cheeks, that puff up and take away from any possible angles from his face when he smiles... his pretty lips, always smiling, laughing... He can’t help it as he wanders into the fantasy of what it’d be like to just pull him down into a kiss.

“You know _what_ ,” Sicheng starts, irritated at his own emotions. “Men ain’t _shit._ ”

Jaehyun cracks one eye open and looks at him. “You’re absolutely right.” He says, and then closes it again. “Who did what, though?”

And god, it would be so easy to just let everything flow, wouldn’t it?

_‘You did. You disappeared on me for two weeks and made me realise that I can’t breathe without you. You made me realise how important your smile is to me. Your laughter. You made me realise that trying to imagine a life without you is like asking me to stop living. You snuck into my heart and made a home there and I didn’t realise how deeply you’d planted your roots. It's like you're some kind of tentacle monster that's wrapped around me, and I'm at the point where I don't want you to let go.'_

But despite the alcohol in his veins, Sicheng knows that this is too big of a risk. He’s not about to tell his best friend that he’s in love with him while _drunk._ He’s not about to jeopardise one of the best things that have ever happened to him because he's feeling loose-lipped. 

And he's certainly not about to make a comment comparing Jaehyun to a tentacle monster, because that's just a slippery path that'll lead Jaehyun to question the type of porn he watches, and honestly, the tentacle thing was one time, and it was all Yuta's fault anyway.

“Sicheng?” Jaehyun’s snapping his fingers in front of his face.

“What, _what?”_ He smacks away Jaehyun’s hand.

“Who did what? Why’d you say that?”

Sicheng sighs. “Men really... they ain’t shit,” he repeats, sadly, this time, and then hides his face into Jaehyun’s shirt. “But also... some of them are pretty,” he mumbles. “And nice... and _maybe_...”

“Uh huh,” Jaehyun says, egging him on.

“He’s pretty, you know? And he’s funny...” Sicheng says, thinking of the moments where Jaehyun’s laughter makes him laugh. “And his nose scrunches up when he laughs, and he’s... I really like him...”

“Yeah?” Jaehyun’s voice sounds a little weird.

“Yeah,” he mutters, playing with the hem of Jaehyun’s shirt.

They’re quiet again. The only noise in the apartment is the air conditioner’s quiet hum, and the occasional singing of drunken university students from the streets. The streetlights provide the bare minimum light into the living room, but honestly, neither of them notice.

“Is it weird that I think I love him?” Sicheng asks after a while.

Jaehyun shifts slightly. “Why would that be weird?”

“I don’t know...”

“Have you told him?”

Sicheng shakes his head. “Don’t think I ever will.”

“Why?”

“I’m scared.” Sicheng’s voice is small as he admits this. “Scared that he won’t love me back, and that I’ll ruin everything,”

“He’d be _stupid_ to not love you back. _Everyone_ loves you,” Jaehyun wraps an arm around his shoulder and holds him close.

“Yeah, but just as a friend,” he says, shifting so that his head is laying on Jaehyun’s stomach.

Sicheng can feel Jaehyun’s hand come to thread through his hair.

“We’ll figure it out together, okay?”

Sicheng laughs softly. Oh, the irony.

“We always do.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Yuta, Ten and Kun don’t stop laughing.

“This is not funny!“ Sicheng whines, flopping forward and letting his face land in the grass.

His three demon friends laugh harder. Where’s Jaehyun when you need him?

Ah, right. Currently under the impression that Sicheng’s in love with someone. Someone who is not Jaehyun. –which is an entirely false statement.

Yuta drapes himself over Sicheng’s back and Sicheng tolerates a whole seven seconds of it before pushing him off. He tries to subtly spit out the grass that’d entered his mouth thanks to his own overdramatic ass, and turns his face sideways so that his cheek is pressed against it instead. “What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know,” Ten says, “maybe _not_ tell him you’re in love with someone else?”

“Who did you say it was anyway?” Kun asks.

Sicheng’s face burns. “I told him it was someone from one of my classes and that he was still in the closet and didn’t want anyone but his friends to know,”

The laughter starts again. Sicheng considers burying his face in the grass again.

“You really should have taken the creative writing course,” Kun says when his laughter finally dies down.

He sits up, only to reach out and lightly smack Kun. “Stop being mean to me,“ he whines.

“That’s literally our _job,_ though,” Ten says, but even as he does, he has a fond look on his face.

Sicheng looks to the sky, both in exasperation and thanks. Exasperation at the fact that he has the friends that he has, and thanks for the fact that he has the friends he has. Demonic tendencies and all. “I don’t know what to do,” he says, after a beat, leaning into Yuta, who immediately wraps his arm around him.

“Well,” Kun starts, “what do you  _want_ to do?“

“I–” He pauses and he thinks about it. Really thinks about it. Thinks about Jaehyun. Simply the thought of him fills a warmth in Sicheng’s heart. A feeling of comfort. Safety. And that’s it, isn’t it? That’s enough.

“I want to tell him,” he says, “and...” he trails off. “I don’t know. I just... I love him, and I want him to know.”

“Then that’s what we’ll help you do,” Kun says, placing a comforting hand on Sicheng’s knee.

Ten leans in, “I have an idea,”

The three of them groan.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It’s a stupid idea. On a _monumental_ scale. It’s one of the dumbest ideas to ever exist. It’s a hundred times worse than the time he and Jaehyun tried to sneak him out of his house for a party at Jung Hyoseop’s house in the 3rd year of high school.

And yet, here he is.

“So,” Sicheng starts. Weekly Movie Night is about to occur, and to be honest, it’s more of an uninterrupted ‘bro-date’ where they just sit together with freshly popped popcorn and catch up, with some inane movie playing in the background. Sicheng’s hovering near the stove with the pan while Jaehyun’s trying to find the popcorn seeds.

“Hmm?” Jaehyun’s voice is muffled. His face is buried deep in the corner cupboard.

“Uh...” Sicheng clears his throat. How’s he supposed to ask this? Does he start with a reminder? Or does he say it again? Does he just deflect to a different topic?

“I can hear you thinking... Just spit it out. It’s _me.”_

Sicheng opens his mouth, and he really doesn’t know what he’s about to say.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 **พี่ชายสั้น** : you asked him WHAT???

 **日本くん** : you’re joking right?  
 **日本くん** : please tell me you’re joking.

 **พี่ชายสั้น:** oh my god  
 **พี่ชายสั้น:** oh my GOD  
 **พี่ชายสั้น** : this is the best day of my life

 **锟大哥** : the best day of your life better be the day you and johnny met me,  
 **锟大哥** : but i will allow this as a second.  
 **锟大哥** : but sicheng, please tell me you didn’t actually ask him how to flirt

 **思成** : how about :) i just :) die instead :)

 **日本くん** : okay, no dying. stop that.  
 **日本くん** : but also i have no idea how you’re gonna come back from this one...

 **พี่ชายสั้น** : what did he say though?  
 **พี่ชายสั้น** : like, what was his advice?

 **思成** : well... he said to start subtly?

 **日本くん** : what the hell’s that supposed to mean?

 **思成** : like, he said to touch ‘my crush’ a little? put my hand on his arm and stuff.

 **日本くん** : i can’t believe this bitch gave you cosmo tips...

 **พี่ชายสั้น** : skdfjklsjfs  
 **พี่ชายสั้น** : ok so that’s a dumb thing.  
 **พี่ชายสั้น** : next.

 **锟大哥** : you’re both very touchy with each other anyway.

 **思成** : he said to laugh at his jokes  
 **思成** : and then i said his jokes aren’t funny, but he said to laugh anyway...

 **日本くん** : you already do.

 **思成** : what?

 **锟大哥** : sicheng...  
 **锟大哥** : jaehyun makes really dumb jokes, and no one laughs except you.

 **思成** : oh.

 **พี่ชายสั้น** : lmao dumbass

 **日本くん** : what else did he say?

 **思成** : he said to try and spend one on one time with him  
 **思成** : which... i’m not sure how to do that...

 **锟大哥** : he’s joking right?  
 **锟大哥** : tell me he’s joking.

 **日本くん** : i wish he was

 **思成** : what!!!!

 **锟大哥** : sicheng...  
 **锟大哥** : when exactly did jaehyun say all of this to u?

 **思成** : ???  
 **思成** : during our weekly movie night?

 **พี่ชายสั้น** : where ur phones are off

 **日本くん** : and no one’s allowed to disturb you?

 **思成** : yeeees?

 **锟大哥** : ...  
 **锟大哥** : u Know What. Fine.  
 **锟大哥** : what else?

 **思成** : he said to like, be more aggressive... and confident...  
 **思成** : and...

 **日本くん** : and?

 **พี่ชายสั้น** : this is gonna be something sappy. i can feel it

 **思成** : he said i don’t have to worry a lot because he’s sure that whoever it is likes me back anyway because it’s impossible to not like me

 **日本くん** : i can’t believe this.  
 **日本くん** : are y’all seeing this?

 **พี่ชายสั้น** : that’s it.  
 **พี่ชายสั้น** : i’m done.

 **思成** : guys.  
 **思成** : guys please  
 **思成** : guys!!!!!!

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Going to the park at nine in the morning is not Sicheng’s idea of fun. Being _alive_ at nine in the morning is not Sicheng’s idea of fun.

But it seems like Sicheng’s developed a sudden weakness to Jaehyun’s puppy eyes, and so, when Jaehyun turned those stupidly beautiful eyes to him, Sicheng found himself agreeing to the ridiculous idea before he could even stop and think about it. Jaehyun’s answering smile made sure he didn’t think about it long enough to go back on his word.

“Where exactly are we going?” Sicheng asks, half asleep on Jaehyun’s shoulder.

Jaehyun shifts and adjusts his grip around Sicheng’s shoulders.  “Yangjae Citizens’ Forest,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to go when the spring market was open, and I read that the best time to go is in the morning, so...“

Sicheng nods, blinking his eyes forcefully and digging out his phone, looking up the place. “Oh, wow, that’s... really pretty,” he says, scrolling through pictures.

“Yeah,” Jaehyun says, peering into Sicheng’s screen, his brows crinkled together.

“Cute,” Sicheng mutters, and keeps scrolling through the pictures. “Did you know,” he starts, a moment later, reading out loud, “that they have around ten thousand trees in there? And fifty two thousand shrubs?”

“Wait, really? Is that ten thousand species of trees? Or is it ten thousand separate trees?”

“I’m pretty sure the place isn’t big enough to have ten thousand separate species of trees– because how can you have just one tree per species, right, like, they need gendered trees to produce flowers and stuff, right? – but even then, holy shit,” Sicheng says, swiping through the pictures. Sicheng can feel Jaehyun staring at him, and without looking away from his phone, Sicheng pushes his face away. "Stop being weird," he mutters.

“'m not being weird. Anyway, do they have–”

“Oh, it says here that there are over seventy species of trees in the forest,” he says, tilting his phone to show Jaehyun.

Jaehyun leans in close to read the rest of the article, and Sicheng rests his forehead against the side of Jaehyun’s head with a small smile.

“They have pines, zelkovas, purple bloom maples, horse chestnut and nut pines,” Jaehyun reads aloud, leaning back into Sicheng’s touch.

Hiding his smile, Sicheng moves back when Jaehyun straightens up, and he focuses on the web page again. “Wait, what’s the difference between a pine and a nut pine?“ He asks.

“The nut pine probably... has nuts?”

Sicheng stares at Jaehyun. _God, what a fucking idiot._

Just as Sicheng’s about to say something, Jaehyun stands and grabs his hand. “Come on, this is our stop!” Jaehyun links their hands together, and pulls Sicheng with him as they exit the bus. As the bus pulls away, Sicheng forgets to feel the loss of Jaehyun’s hand.

“Holy shit,” he whispers.

It’s beautiful.

Facing the park, he sees green for as far as his eyes can see. The entrance to the forest is a simple pathway with trees lined on both sides. He’s pretty sure that trees are the same ones that Sicheng’s seen every day on campus, but he’s never really _noticed_ them. But now that he’s seeing them here, beautiful and thriving? They’re breathtaking. Covered in flowers, the trees are thick and bushy, with only a few spots for the soft morning sunlight to peek through.

“See why I wanted to come here?”

“Yeah,” Sicheng breathes, as they cross the street and enter.

They’re almost silent as they walk together, both of them, just looking around, at the place and the people in it. Every once in a while, their hands will brush, and Sicheng tries his best to not let it affect him.

“There... are a _lot_ of couples here,” Sicheng notes, watching as a couple, both dressed in pink, take pictures of each other. There are other couples that are walking hand in hand, laughing, having a picnic or two... It’s sweet.

There are a few families too, especially near the colourful play area, but the majority of the people here seem to be couples.

“Oh,“ Jaehyun says, looking around, “seems like it,” he says, and then wrinkling his nose in the direction of the couple making out. “Ugh, can they _not_ make out in a public place? There are children here!”

Sicheng laughs, and follows Jaehyun’s gaze, and yup– a couple making out against a tree. He wrinkles his nose, mimicking Jaehyun and turns back to look at him.

“Oh, hey, look,” he points at the colourful sign that caught his eye. ‘Sunday Market this way!’, it read, with an arrow pointing to the left.

“Huh?” Jaehyun turns to look, and a wide grin takes over his face. ”That’s the one! Come!”

Jaehyun grabs his hand again, and starts off in the direction of the market. Sicheng smiles, very much looking like an idiot in love as he follows.

It’s only a few minutes down the path, but as they get closer, the crowd thins out from twenty-something-year-old couples to seasoned bargain hunters, usually, in the form of middle-aged women. A good number of the crowd seems to be returning, with bags full of items they’ve already purchased. The middle-aged women are interspersed with families, and a few tourists here and there. The families are loud and spread out, some with children wailing and demanding for something or the other, and some kids that got what they want and are now running around, creating havoc. The tourists look like... well, tourists. Just by looking at them, Sicheng can tell that at least four of them were scammed at the market.

As they get closer, a sweet smell fills the air. Even from a distance, Sicheng can see a cart selling soaps, and another one, somewhere near it, selling what looks like fresh bread. He’s pretty sure if he tries, he’ll be able to find a loaf that looks like Jaehyun.

Hiding a smile, he turns to look at him, and he can’t help but stare. The sunlight’s being filtered through the trees, and it’s creating a pretty halo around Jaehyun’s head. His pink hair looks even more ethereal in this light, and there’s a soft smile on his face as he looks around at the kids. He can even see the little crinkle of his eyes that only ever shows up when he’s really, truly, happy. Sicheng kind of really wants to walk straight into a tree because he doesn’t think he can take a few more hours of Jaehyun being the perfect Disney prince.

“Oh, look!” Jaehyun says, as they finally reach the first cart.

The stall smells of lavender and citrus and a few other generic soapy smells. Which is weird, because Sicheng never paid attention to what soaps smell like. Pausing for a moment, Sicheng looks at the colourful display and the paper streamers hanging around the cart, and he wonders what exactly constitutes of a generic soap smell. Why is that even a thing? “This place smells so nice,” he mutters.

Jaehyun makes a little hum of agreement as he picks up a small purple coloured soap and smells it.

Sicheng leans forward to look at the tray from which Jaehyun picked it up, and reads the info card. “That’s not for you,” he says, plucking it right out of Jaehyun’s hands.

He makes a small whining sound, and Sicheng wants to die. He absolutely hates this ‘ _being in love'_   business. It makes him stupid. And more importantly, it makes him susceptible to Jaehyun’s whining.

“You have oily skin,” he says, pointing at the info card as he puts it back in the tray. “That one has shea butter. No way. I’ll be able to fry an egg on your face. Nope. Not buying this.”

“But it smells so good,” he’s giving him puppy eyes, and Sicheng resolutely looks back at the cart.

“I know, but,” his eyes wander over the trays and he picks up a green soap instead. “Smell this one,” he says, handing it over.

“That one’s got lemongrass and grapefruit,” the vendor says as she walks around the cart. “Which,” she says grinning at Sicheng, “is a lot better for oily skin.“

Sicheng watches as Jaehyun smells the soap and nods. “Oh, yeah, this is nice,” he says softly, his shoulders visibly relaxing. “This is really nice.”

“It’s relaxing too,” the lady adds with a chuckle.

Jaehyun puts the soap back down on the tray and reaches for his wallet. “How much is this one for?”

“The lemongrass one?” She asks.

“Yes, please.”

“They’re all handmade, so they’re a little expensive,” she explains, almost guiltily, and Sicheng gets the idea that she’s still very new to the business. “The smaller ones are for ten thousand won, and the bigger ones are sixteen thousand won.”

“Oh,” Jaehyun pauses for a moment. “I think I’ll get the smaller one to start with?“ he says with a smile.

“Of course,” the lady says, and heads behind the counter and pulls out her packaging. She picks up the soap and neatly wraps it up in a sheet of paper. Then she places it in a small paper bag and hands it to Jaehyun.

In the meantime, Sicheng looks around at the other soaps, and his eyes widen when he steps closer and reads the name of a brown coloured one. “Jaehyun,” he says, smacking his arm. _“Jaehyun,_ look!“ he points, “that’s a chocolate soap,” he looks at him and then back at it. “I want to _eat_ it,“

“Oh, they’re not edible!” The vendor chimes, sounding a little alarmed, in and Sicheng’s face burns.

He laughs in embarrassment, “ah, I know,” he says, mortified. “I was just kidding. You know, because it smells so good.“

The lady just laughs at him. Sicheng wants to die.

“Thank you so much,” Jaehyun says, holding up his new purchase. “I’ll use it well!“ He starts guiding Sicheng away from the cart.

As soon as they’re out of earshot, Sicheng groans and hides his face into Jaehyun’s neck, “that wasn’t embarrassing at all,” he mumbles.

Jaehyun’s hand comes up to rub at his back. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,”

Sicheng looks up and gives Jaehyun a dead-eyed stare.

“Okay, maybe it was that bad. But it’s fine. You made her laugh, right? At least she’ll remember you and smile.“

“Yeah, that’s true,” he admits after a moment.

Sicheng really wishes he had Jaehyun’s kind of optimism sometimes. The kind that’s pure and hopeful and always so, so kind. The kind that’ll always look for the best in a situation, no matter how much it’s hurt him. Jaehyun’s heart is so gentle, and sometimes, Sicheng wishes it wasn’t. He doesn’t like wishing for something that would change something that's so integral to who Jaehyun is as a person, but he has his reasons. he knows how soft Jaehyun’s heart is. He knows how no matter how much he’s hurt, he’ll do his best to play it off with a smile. He remembers the way Jaehyun had cried when his first girlfriend had cheated on him. He also remembers the way he’d said, only a week later, how she looked happier with Sungmin.

He never wants to see Jaehyun cry again.

Really fucking unrealistic, he knows, but god, even if only as his best friend, he wants to make sure Jaehyun never cries because of him.

_Ever._

They’ve walked past a few carts that were selling cheesy souvenirs; tacky hoodies with ‘I love Seoul’ stamped on them in an ugly font and little wooden keychains that said they were made in Korea even though all the locals knew they were made in China.

“Ooh,” Sicheng says, grinning, as they reach a cart selling bread, biscuits and cakes. “It’s you,” he points at a loaf of smooth white bread.

Jaehyun smacks him.

The lady behind the cart smiles at him, and Sicheng points at the bread with a questioning look on his face. The lady nods, and Sicheng grins, picking up the loaf and holding it next to Jaehyun’s face. “Smile,” he demands, and when Jaehyun obliges, mostly out of actual humour, the puffiness of his cheeks absolutely mimic the loaf of bread, and he can’t help the giggles that pour out of his mouth. “Oh my _god,”_ he’s gasping, pulling out his phone, “it _is_ you!”

“Stop it!” Jaehyun rolls his eyes, but Sicheng ignores him in favour of taking a picture of Jaehyun and the bread.

He then turns to the lady, “how much is this for?” he asks, and then reaches for his wallet.

Five minutes and seven thousand won later, they walk away from the stall with one loaf of bread, and two cinnamon buns. Handing a bun to Jaehyun, Sicheng takes a bite of his own and makes a small sound.

 _“Holy_ shit,” he says, eyes wide as he looks at Jaehyun.

“Holy _shit,”_ Jaehyun replies, looking back at him.

Once they’ve discovered the taste, the two of them try and eat the bun as slowly as humanly possible, to try and make the bun last for as long as they can. They've both agreed that it’s probably the best bun they’ve ever eaten.

For the next hour or so, they don’t buy much, and wander around the market. Every now and then, one of them would pull the other towards a cart, pointing at something pretty or interesting. Sicheng watches as a mother buys a chocolate bun for her daughter. A few carts away, a girl squeals when her boyfriend agrees to buy... jewellery, maybe? for her. There’s a tourist talking to one of the vendors in broken Korean, asking about prices, and someone a few carts away, talking about painting techniques.

With Jaehyun still a few carts back, Sicheng's reached the last cart in the market. A small one selling flowers. There’s an elderly man standing beside it, picking out flowers, and making small bouquets. A pretty pink and white one catches Sicheng’s eye, and he reaches for it.

“Hello,” he greets the man, with a small smile. “What flowers are these?“

The man slowly walks around the cart, and looks at the bouquet for only a split second before answering him. “These,” he points to a cluster of flowers, “are pink hydrangeas, for love, and these,” he points to a smaller more delicate looking flower, “are white lisianthus,” he says, “for thankfulness.”

“Oh.”

“So if you are thankful for the one you love, this is a good choice,” the man says, tapping his nose with a knowing look on his face.

Sicheng can feel his ears turn red, and he nods. He’s about to reach for his wallet when he notices a few artificial flower crowns hanging on the side of the cart.

“And what about those?“ He asks. “Are they for sale too?”

The old man follows his gaze and he smiles widely. “Yes, they are!” He sounds happier. “My granddaughter made these,“ he coos.

Sicheng smiles, and touches one with white, blue and pink flowers. “How much is this one for?”

He’s just paid for the crown and wrapped up his ‘thank yous’ and ‘goodbyes’ when Jaehyun joins him.

“Sicheng! Sicheng, you will not believe,” he starts, his eyes wide, “they have _three_ cats and _five_ kittens!”

“Are they here?”

“No,” Jaehyun pouts, and god damn, Sicheng wants to kiss it off of him. “But I saw pictures! I wanted to pet them _so bad_ ,” he says, as they walk out of the market.

He then blinks and looks at the flower crown in his hand. “Oh, wow, that’s pretty,”

Sicheng looks at the crown in his hand and places it on Jaehyun’s head. He smiles. “Yeah, it is.”

“What’s this for?” Jaehyun sounds pleasantly surprised and hopefully, Sicheng’s not delusional, because he can see a blush rising on Jaehyun’s cheeks.

“I don’t know. Thought you’d look good in it. Like a fairy prince with the pink hair and stuff, you know?”

“Oh,” Jaehyun has a wide smile on his face and he turns to Sicheng, making idol-esque cutesy flower poses. “Do I look good?“

Laughing, he nods. “Yeah,” he says, “you look pretty.”

Maybe Jaehyun notices that for once, he actually, truly means it, because there’s a look in his eyes that Sicheng doesn’t know how to interpret.

“Thanks,” he says, suddenly shy.

Sicheng slips his arm through Jaehyun’s and he bumps him. “Anytime, loser.“

They continue walking down the pathway, arms linked, and looking around, Sicheng really wonders if something like this would qualify as a date. But for it to _really_ qualify as a date, both parties would need to know that it’s a date. And for that to happen, Sicheng needs to tell him, doesn’t he? And right now, in a place like this, surrounded by nature, after having spent almost four hours together, just existing together, doing a lot of date like things... maybe seems like a good time?

He looks at Jaehyun, who’s looking back at him, and Sicheng smiles, bumping him lightly with his shoulder.

He’s gonna do it. He’s gonna tell Jaehyun.

“What are you thinking about?” He asks.

Now Jaehyun’s gonna tell him what’s on his mind, and he’ll ask, ‘ _what are you thinking about, Sicheng?_ ’ and then Sicheng will say, _‘I’m wondering if this is a good time to tell you I’m in love with you,_ ’ and it’s gonna be super cool and super slick, and things will be fine.

“I’m thinking,” Jaehyun says, and Sicheng can feel something tighten in his chest. Oh god. It’s really going to happen. It's happening! Everybody stay calm!

“–this would be a great place to bring your crush, wouldn’t it? It’s pretty and kinda romantic, right?” Jaehyun continues, smiling at him. “How’s that going by the way? Are you flirting with him? What does he think?”

If this were a movie, Sicheng would stop walking in shock, and have an overdramatic, passive-aggressive reaction to it, which would then be played off as comic relief.

Except it’s not.

So he swallows the lump in his throat, and forces out a smile. “You know, I’m trying. We spent some time together recently,” –as recently as right now, actually, – “but I don’t think he gets it,”

“Wait, really?” Jaehyun asks, “aww, well, maybe... make it more obvious? Like... I don’t know... use a pet name? Like 'babe' or something? What does he like?“

Sicheng shrugs. “How am I supposed to know what he likes? What do most people like?” He asks.

He hums. “Okay, good point,” Jaehyun scratches the back of his head, “Uhh, I think I’d like it if someone called me _baby,_ you know?”

“Aww, _baby,”_ Sicheng says, only half teasing him.

Jaehyun nods earnestly. “Yeah, like... I don’t know, it’s cute.”

“It is.”

“Right? So try that with him! Maybe that’ll give him a better idea? Are you being touchy with him too? Laughing at his jokes?”

Sicheng really, really wishes this was The Office, because he would love to stare into the camera right now.

“He’s not funny, so no. But we are pretty touchy with each other,” he says, leaning further into Jaehyun’s side as a pathetic attempt at a hint. “He’s probably just stupid, I think.”

“I mean, he’s gotta be, right?” Jaehyun teases him. “How else would you like him? It’s like that meme!” He says, “you know the one,” he snaps his fingers as if it would jog his memory. “The _moronsexual_ meme!”  

Sicheng smacks Jaehyun. “Hey! Don’t be mean to him,” he says, and the irony isn’t lost on him.

Not for a moment.

“He’s probably not that bad if you like him, though,” Jaehyun says after a beat. His voice sounds odd, but Sicheng doesn’t know why.

“He’s not bad at all.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 _“So,”_ Jaehyun starts, and Sicheng knows exactly where this is going. “Is he still stupid?” It’s been a few weeks since their morning in Yangjae Citizens’ Forest, and every few days, Jaehyun will slide up to him and ask if his crush is still stupid.

Sicheng stares at Jaehyun and decides that yes. His crush is still pretty stupid. He’s been spending more and more time with Jaehyun, complimenting him, touching him a little more... Basically following every cosmo tip in the book. And yet...

“Who’s stupid? Sicheng? Because I _agree,“_ Ten pipes in, grinning.

“Wait, why are we bullying Sicheng? I want in,” Yuta says, dropping his bag on the table and sitting next to Doyoung.

“Hey babe,” Doyoung turns to Yuta for a kiss.

Sicheng wrinkles his nose. He wants that shit.

“We’re not bullying him,” Jaehyun says, grinning at Yuta, and pointedly ignores when Doyoung hides his laughter with a cough. “Apparently, his crush is an idiot who doesn’t realise that Sicheng’s flirting with him.”

Yuta blinks at Sicheng, and a slow smile takes over his face. “Oh? Our little Sichengie has a crush?” he asks, as if he wasn’t the first person to find out.

“Sicheng has a _crush_ and he didn’t tell me?” Doyoung places a hand on his heart. “How cruel!” Doyoung has a knowing look on his face, and he’s pretty sure he knows as well. Sicheng hasn’t exactly been super subtle.

Jaehyun is just stupid.

“Yeah! I thought you’d tell _me,_ at least!” Taeyong pipes in from beside Jaehyun.

Sicheng drops his head on the table with a thunk.

He feels a hand card through his hair, and he leans into it. “Taeil hyung, _please_ make them stop,” he says with a small whine.

“Guys, guys,” Taeil says calmly, “Why he didn’t tell you isn’t important right now. What is important, is why Sicheng didn’t tell _me,_ when clearly, I’m the most emotionally competent between all of you here!”

Sicheng groans and sits up, slapping Taeil’s hand away from his hair. “You know what? I’m leaving. I didn’t come here to be slandered.“ He says, standing up. Jaehyun laughs and grabs his hand, pulling him down, and it really says a lot that Sicheng just sits back down, no fuss at all.

“I can’t believe you’d tell Jaehyun of all people, and not me!“ Taeyong says.

“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?” Jaehyun asks, frowning.

“He means that you’re an idiot,” Doyoung replies bluntly, and Ten chokes on his water.

Sicheng laughs, and then shifts to address the group as a whole. “For the record, Jaehyun doesn’t know who it is.”

 _“Obviously,”_ Ten mutters, and Sicheng pointedly ignores that.

“Yeah,” Jaehyun says. ”He’s only out to his friends right now, so it’s not really Sicheng’s story to tell, and I respect that.”

Taeil coos. “Aww,” he says, ruffling Sicheng’s hair. “That’s cute.”

Sicheng smacks away his hand and fixes the mess Taeil made.

“Right, of course,” Yuta says seriously, and Sicheng can see Ten struggling not to laugh.

“Okay, but what’s he like though?” Taeyong asks, “Tell us about him!”

“Yeah!” Taeil adds. “Take this as a one-time free pass to be as sappy and disgusting about him as you want!”

Sicheng stares at the couple. “It’s not going to be worse than the two of you, but...” Sicheng sighs, and turns slightly to look at Jaehyun.

“Well.. he’s...“ he pauses to look away from him. Because he knows that if he looks for too long, he’ll say something that he didn’t mean to. “He’s beautiful. Like... His smile’s really pretty,“ he says finally.

“Aww, a pretty boy!“ Ten says grinning.

Sicheng’s heart’s pounding in his chest. He hasn’t really said this aloud to this many people before. Sure, it’s only the guys and he knows they’re not going to be assholes about it, but... Saying it like this, in front of Jaehyun... It makes him panic a little. Still, he takes in a deep breath, and continues.

“His smile, his laugh... the way he talks. The way his hands move when he’s talking about something he’s really passionate about... The way he looks like a goddamn painting when the light hits him right... and obviously, I don’t like him just because he’s pretty but... I don’t know how else to describe him. He’s just... _him,_ you know? And sometimes...” he continues softly. The guys are all quiet now, just listening. He leans his head against Taeil’s shoulder. “Sometimes when I look at him, and feel like my heart’s going to burst. Like... like my body isn’t enough to hold everything that I feel for him, you know?”

“Wow,” Taeil says softly.

“That was really pretty,” Yuta adds with a little smile.

“Did you rehearse that or something?” Doyoung asks, “Because it sounded like it came from a movie...“

Sicheng laughs, “naah. I’m just... crushing on a boy,” he shrugs.

“Sicheng...” Taeyong looks at him, “have you told him? Because what you said... that’s me with Taeil hyung... and like. I’m in _love_ with him,”

Taeil grins. “Aww, sweetie,” he leans over to kiss Taeyong.

Doyoung reaches out to push their faces away. “Okay, stop it! This isn’t about you,” he smacks Taeyong. “Yeah, but have you told him?”

Sicheng huffs. “I mean, I’m trying!” He says exasperatedly. “He’s just...”

“–stupid,” Jaehyun finishes for him.

“Yeah,” Sicheng agrees, looking right at him. “He’s just stupid. He’s not... getting the hint.”

Jaehyun bumps his shoulder from beside him. “Hey, don’t worry about it so much. He’s lucky to have someone like you loving him... Anyone would be. You’re... _you.”_ He says, as if it explains everything.

“Got your drinks!” A new voice interrupts. Sicheng’s turns to see Jungkook with a tray of drinks. He moves out of the way so that Jungkook can place them on the table safely. “Thanks,” he says, and then starts handing out their drinks. “That’s a latte for you,” he hands it to Doyoung, “a mocha for you...” to Ten, and in a few moments, they’re all holding their drinks.

“And none for you,” Jungkook says, grinning at Jaehyun as he hands him his americano.

Laughing, Jaehyun takes it. “Thanks, man.” He takes a sip and grins. “How’s everything going with the loves of your li–" Jaehyun doesn’t get to finish the sentence because a red-cheeked Jungkook has slapped his hand over his mouth.

Sicheng grins.

Jungkook yelps and pulls his hand away. “Bro, _come on,_ ” he says, wiping it off on his apron. “But they’re good,“ he says. His cheeks are puffing out into a smile and he’s got a cute blush on his face.

“You’re welcome,” Jaehyun says, pointedly, and Jungkook smacks his arm.

“Yeah, yeah,“ he says, rolling his eyes, and then looks at Sicheng.

“Hey, listen man, I kinda overheard what you were talking about, and this is probably, like, _really_ out of line, but...” he pauses, but Sicheng doesn’t stop him, genuinely curious, “if I’ve learned anything, it’s that guys don’t get _hints._ Like, we don’t know how to process them, so you really need to be, like, obviously forward.” Jungkook explains. “From personal experience.“

Jaehyun fake-coughs aggressively.

“Yes, yes, thank you, Jaehyun," Jungkook adds.

“Wait, what does he have to do with anything?” Ten pokes in.

“Honestly, if the guys, and Jaehyun, yes, _especially you,”_ he says quickly with a small laugh, as if to placate him, “hadn’t pretty much bullied me into telling Jimin and Tae that I’ve been in love with them for like, a year... I’d _still_ be pining over them.”

“Wait, Jaehyun. Like, _Jung Jaehyun_ helped with advice?“ Yuta sounds more than slightly sceptical. “Like, _this_ kid?“ He asks, pointing at Jaehyun.

“Trust me,” Jungkook says, laughing. “I was shocked too. But... Yeah. He talked to me and told me about how you’re gonna miss out on things if you don’t take the chance, you know? And then you end up wondering ‘what if’?” He looks back at Sicheng. “So just... go for it. Shoot your shot.“ He pretends to throw a basketball in the air with a grin.

Sicheng chuckles, “thanks, Jungkook,” he says with a genuine smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

“ _Kookie_!” A voice calls out, and Jungkook’s face lights up. “That’s my boyfriend, so... see you around guys,” he says with an almost giddy grin, waving at them as he heads back towards the counter and throws his arm around the same short pink haired guy from before. The blue haired guy joins them after a moment, a stupidly-in-love smile on his face.

There’s silence on the table for a moment, and then Ten speaks.

“Is it just me or are poly couples becoming more common these days?” Ten tilts his head, watching Jungkook and his two boyfriends.

And just like that, the conversation on their table picks back up. It doesn’t circle back to Sicheng’s love life, and he has absolutely no problems about that. He’d much prefer talking about changing attitudes in society, or even about Doyoung and Yuta’s increasingly public sexual activities. Throughout the evening, though, Sicheng can’t stop thinking about Jungkook’s words. The way that he’d said that Jaehyun told him that chances slip away.

 

“What did he mean?” Sicheng asks Jaehyun on their way back to the dorms.

“Huh?”

“Earlier, Jungkook said you told him about missing chances... What’d he mean?”

“Oh,” Jaehyun sounds a little surprised that Sicheng’s asking, but he continues. “Oh, just that... I had a crush on someone, but I didn’t do anything about it, and now I’m pretty sure he’s in love with someone else.”

“Oh,”

Jaehyun laughs at him and wraps an arm around his shoulder. “Yeah, it’s really not that deep. So put away your worry face. I’m fine,” he says.

Sicheng narrows his eyes and stares at Jaehyun, observing his face. “Okay...” he says slowly.

“But what Jungkook meant was, that you gotta go for it. Because if you don’t, you’re gonna regret it.”  

“Do you?”

Jaehyun smiles at him, and it’s a little sad around the edges. “Only when I’m drunk.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Sicheng wakes up to a dramatic scream. He blinks at the crying woman on the tv. What the hell is going on? He tries to reach for the remote to switch the tv off, but he can’t move. Blinking blearily, he shifts again, and then realises that the reason he can’t move is because Jaehyun’s sleeping half on top of him. Jaehyun’s got his arms wrapped around Sicheng’s torso, and a little bit of drool on the side of his mouth. Sometime during their marathon, they moved from sitting up straight to half lying down on the sofa. He wriggles the free side of his body and manages to reach the remote with the tips of his fingers and pushes the button to turn the tv off.

He’s about to settle back in next to Jaehyun when he really notices the position that Jaehyun’s in. That’s going to fuck up his back. So he sighs, and slides out, with some difficulty, he might add, from under Jaehyun.

“Jaehyun.” He calls him softly, shaking him. _“Jaehyun,”_ he calls him again.

Jaehyun barely responds, a small frown on his face as he reaches his hand towards Sicheng.

Damn it.

Sighing, Sicheng stretches his arms and back before bending and hooking one arm under Jaehyun’s knees, and the other around his shoulders. He braces himself, and then lifts him up in a bridal carry. He takes small but quick steps in towards Jaehyun’s room, and as carefully as possible – which is not much, given the circumstance, – Sicheng lays him on the bed. He wrestles with the blanket that’s under Jaehyun, and once free, he puts it on Jaehyun, tucking him in.

He barely gives himself a moment to think before he’s pulling off his jeans and climbing into the small twin bed with Jaehyun. They’ve slept over enough times for them to not care about this anymore. Exhausted, Sicheng closes his eyes, and waits to fall asleep.

He doesn’t.

His eyes are heavy, and he’s _so_ exhausted. For some reason, the assignments have been piling up faster than he can do them, and no matter how long he spends in the library, he barely gets any work done. It’s been a stressful few weeks, and it’s started to show. None of them had any time to catch up with each other, and it doesn’t look like any of them will have any free time anytime soon.

Sicheng hadn’t seen Jaehyun in over a week, which is unusual for the two of them. Especially with what their long-standing weekly movie night. Except both of them had a submission to hand in the next day, and spent the night working on that instead of together. Sicheng was holed up in the library, and he’s pretty sure Jaehyun hasn’t seen the sun for more than twenty minutes in the past week.

They were close to burning out, and they knew it. Which is why the two of them decided to have this movie night whether they wanted it or not. Because they needed it. And each other. So he’d had gone to Jaehyun’s apartment, and the two of them talked for a couple of hours before they decided to eat dinner and then turn on the movie. Sicheng doesn’t remember dinner or the movie. He’s pretty sure they ate, but he doesn’t quite remember what it was.

He sighs and turns around to face Jaehyun, and for a second his breath gets caught in his throat. He really is one of the most beautiful people Sicheng’s ever seen. The blinds are half open, and the diffused street lights coupled with the soft moonlight paints Jaehyun in the hues of colours that Sicheng doesn’t know how to identify. It’s like staring at something so beautiful that you don’t know how or where to start analysing it.

And he knows it’s fucking cheesy, but Jaehyun really does look like a painting. A painting of an ethereal being of some sort. His eyes wander for a moment, and Sicheng sees the flower crown hanging on the side of Jaehyun’s mirror, and he smiles. Maybe an elven prince. Maybe he’s the kind and gentle prince of a secret elven race. He’d be kind and gentle, sure, but he’d also be fair and just and decisive about what he wanted to do. And he’d make sure his people would be happy.

He huffs a laugh at his own thoughts, and with light fingertips, he traces the curves of Jaehyun’s face. He’s fast asleep, which is why Sicheng only feels a little bit guilty about reaching out to push away a strand of hair from Jaehyun’s forehead. He lets his hand linger there, and impulsively, he cups Jaehyun’s cheek, his thumb rubbing at Jaehyun’s cheekbone. Sicheng has a small smile on his face as his fingertips trace down the bridge of Jaehyun’s nose and the light curve of his lips. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers to himself, “it’s unreasonable...”

His mind wanders, but like a moth to a flame, he ends up thinking about Jaehyun again. He tucks his hand in beside him again, and continues looking at Jaehyun. He loves his eyes. Loves the way they light up when he’s excited about something. Loves how warm they always are when they look at him. Loves the way that everytime he’s worried, he’ll look at Jaehyun, into his eyes, and he’ll be okay again.

Sicheng loves his voice too. Loves it’s deep timbre, and how it’s always so comforting. Loves how no matter how lost he feels, scared and stumbling for safety, he knows that Jaehyun’s voice can guide him home. Knows that as long as Jaehyun’s by his side, as his friend or maybe, someday, as more, he’s going to be okay.

No matter what.

Sighing, Sicheng then forces himself to close his eyes and start counting sheep to try and fall asleep. He’s out before he hits a hundred.

And if Jaehyun opens his eyes and pulls Sicheng closer, no one except him is awake to find out.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Being in a study group is not something Sicheng had expected. Study groups have always felt like the stereotypical teen drama sort of thing – something that has no place in real life, - and yet, here he is, sitting in the library with five other people, trying to figure out what the hell they did in class last week.

“Wait, are you _sure_ that’s the right question?” Jihyo asks with a little frown on her lips.

Minghao rechecks the question on his phone, “isn’t it five c?”

Sicheng’s confused now. “Isn’t it four b?”

“Didn’t you pay attention in class?” Lisa asks him, not looking away from her phone. Lisa has an uncanny ability to multitask, and Sicheng is only a little bit jealous. Just a bit.

“I don’t remember the last time any of us paid attention in that class,” Chan says, running a hand through his hair.

“I don’t think I was there last week...” Haseul says, wrinkling her nose as she giggles softly.

The five of them look at her and then start laughing.

It’s a good group they have, to be honest. Sure, they’re loud, and fun, but there’s a reason why their table is on the third floor, towards the back. They know they’re noisy, but they also want to make sure that they don’t annoy others. Still, it’s not like they’re chaotic all the time. They do have a healthy balance of nonsense and actual studying going on, and more often than not, everyone pulls their weight equally, which is honestly, one of the bigger advantages.

“Listen, she doesn’t take attendance and we all sleep in there _anyway,_ so like...” Haseul defends, shrugging.

“I mean, you’re not wrong, but,” Sicheng says, grinning, “we should probably get started on this though... I need to leave soon, I have–”

And then the five of them chime in together, “ _a bro date with Jaehyun tonight._ ”

“...a bro-date with Jaehyun tonight,” Sicheng finishes weakly, his face burning.

“Yes, we _know,”_ Jihyo says, rolling her eyes.

Lisa laughs. “You don’t need to constantly remind us that you have dates with Jung Jaehyun, you know. _We get it._ ”

Sicheng makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “I– we– they’re– not dates.” It sounds weak, even to him.

“Sure,” Chan pats him on the shoulder.

“What? They’re _not!”_ Sicheng looks to Minghao for help, but he just shrugs.

“Sure they aren’t,” Haseul replies, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, but to be honest,” Mingao says finally, “do you think if he had an _actual_ date with Jaehyun he’d be here right now? Or like, do you think he would be able to _shut the fuck up_ about the fact that he’s going on a date with Jaehyun?”

Jihyo points at him. “Good point.”

“Okay, yeah, that makes sense,” Haseul agrees. “I mean, it’s Jaehyun, right?”

“God, he’s so fucking cute,” Chan says with a dreamy sigh. “11/10, would date.”

Lisa smacks him, “you have a boyfriend!”

“So? I’m not _blind!”_

Minghao nods and pipes in. “Yeah! Just because I have a boyfriend doesn’t mean that I don’t know that Chungha is one of the most beautiful women to exist!”

“I’m so fucking gay for her,” Jihyo says, seriously.

“Aren’t we all a little gay for Chungha, though?” Haseul sighs.

Chan nods. “Absolutely.”

Sicheng isn’t sure how they even got to this conversation, but he’s pretty sure it started off with Jaehyun.

“Oh,” Lisa starts, “Rosie texted me back. She said the question’s actually three d.”

Sicheng opens his mouth, and then closes it.

“You know what, considering she’s the best in our class, I’m not going to argue with her,” Chan says, picking up his book again.

“Right then,” Jihyo says, stretching her arms out as if she’s readying for a marathon. She then puts her hair into a fancy bun that looks equal parts messy and cute.

Lisa stares at her, looking a little love-struck, and honestly? Sicheng gets it.

As chaotic as his group is, they’re also efficient. They have designated roles for most of their work, and they effortlessly fall into those assigned spaces. For example, Lisa, Chan and Haseul handle the research. Sicheng and Minghao summarise, bullet and, if necessary, explain it. And that leaves Jihyo to do most of the correction, since out of all of them, she’s the only one who actively attempts to pay attention in class.

They’re about two hours into the assignment, when Sicheng’s phone buzzes with Jaehyun’s text tone. Pausing, he picks up his phone, subconciously smiling.

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : r u in the library?

 **sicheng:** yeah.  
 **sicheng:** with the study group.

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : oh cool  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : im at sbux rn.  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : want smth?

 **sicheng:** nah.  
 **sicheng:** i’m good.

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : mmk.  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : gna b thr soon~

Sicheng frowns, and he’s about to text back when Minhao nudges him, “hey, what’d you write for this?”

“Hmm?” Sicheng leans over to look at the screen, his phone forgotten.

They’re about halfway done into the assignment, when someone puts a paper cup of coffee on the table in front of Sicheng’s screen. Sicheng looks up, and finds Jaehyun smiling down at him.

“Got you coffee,” he says sweetly.

Sicheng narrows his eyes, “didn’t I tell you not to get me any?”

“No,” he replies, and Sicheng hates that he loves that smirk on Jaehyun’s lips. “You said you’re good. And I agree. You’re _great._ But so is the coffee,” he says, making finger guns at him.

Sicheng hears a gasp that sounds a lot like Haseul. A manicured hand reaches out for the cup, and Sicheng smacks it away.

“Ow!” Lisa whines, rubbing her hand.

 _“My_ coffee!” Sicheng says, picking it up and holding it protectively. Lisa just narrows her eyes.

“You _just_ said you didn’t want it.”

“No, I said I didn’t want _him_ to get any, not that I didn’t want it.”

Sicheng can sense Jaehyun laughing. He doesn’t need to turn to see it. He just _knows_ that the little silent breaths behind him are a part of Jaehyun’s laughter.

“Right, so, Jaehyun,” Jihyo starts, looking at him with a scary determination.

“Yes?” Jaehyun sounds scared.

“What will it take for you to drop Sicheng and become my best friend instead? Because I could really use someone who brings me coffee when I’m studying...“

 _“Jesus,”_ Chan says, looking at her, shocked, “can you try and not make it sound like a job offer?”

Jaehyun just laughs, and Sicheng narrows his eyes at Jihyo.

“Nope,” Sicheng replies instead of Jaehyun, looking at her. “He’s my best friend. Go get your own.”

Jihyo looks at Lisa, and Chan for a moment, a specific type of look on her face – almost like a code word, – and then Lisa looks at him, “right, but you can share, right?”

By now, Jaehyun’s leaning forward against Sicheng’s chair, and Sicheng’s resting his head back on Jaehyun’s stomach. So of course, Jaehyun takes the opportunity and uses the top of Sicheng’s head as a coaster for his coffee cup.

“Yeah, Sicheng,” Haseul joins in, probably just to be annoying, “can’t you share?”

Jaehyun laughs, and Sicheng can feel him inhale to speak and he quickly cuts in, anxiety pooling in the pit of his stomach. Jaehyun’s his best friend. He’s _not_ sharing him. "Nope," Sicheng says, looking at her. “He’s _mine._ Go get your own super supportive and amazing best friend,”

“Aww,” Jaehyun grins, preening. “Anyway,” he says quickly, because he can sense that Jihyo’s about to say something again, “I need to get started on my assignment. I just stopped by to give Sicheng his coffee,” he says, moving away. Sicheng laments the loss of his comfortable headrest.

“You came all the way here to give him his coffee?” Lisa asks, looking at him.

“Yeah?”

“Wow, get me a man like that,” Lisa mutters, and Sicheng has to resist the irrational urge to smack her. Vultures. The whole lot of them.

“See you tonight?” Jaehyun asks, looking at Sicheng as he starts to walk backwards.

“Yup,” Sicheng agrees, before adding. “I know you get to pick the movie, but for the love of god, do _not_ pick Sharknado.”

Jaehyun has a shameless smile on his face. “If I get to pick the movie, then I get to pick the movie!”

Sicheng rolls his eyes and looks at him, impossibly fond. “Fine, but we’re not eating pizza again!”

“But–”

“Bye baby,” Sicheng teases, him, blowing a kiss and turning back around, effectively ending the conversation.

Still smiling, Sicheng looks up, and he sees five pairs of eyes staring at him. His face burns as he realises what they just saw.

“Not one word,” he says, face red as tries to hide behind the coffee that Jaehyun brought for him. His eyes fall to the cup, and he sees the message that’s on his cup, obviously, courtesy of Jaehyun.

‘Have a good study session! You’re gonna be great!’

Sicheng finds himself falling deeper and deeper in love with him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Being in love with your best friend is easy.

Except when it’s not.

It’s like flying and not knowing if there’s something to catch you if you fall, and still, somehow, having the conviction that your best friend will be there no matter what. It’s peaceful and chaotic, because there’s so much that’s already there, so many moments, and so much history, and yet, it still feels new, because there are new emotions and new experiences waiting to occur.

It’s kind of like if someone walked into your house and glued all your furniture to the ceiling. Sure, everything’s still exactly the same, but it’s not at the same at all.

When you’re in love with your best friend, you want to see them _all the time_ – even when before you’ve fully opened your eyes in the morning. It’s when you wake up at six in the morning because they want to go to a park, and you absolutely _hate_ the idea, but you go anyway, because you can’t stop thinking about how happy they’ll be if you go with them. It’s when you look at the face they make when they drink a soda and think of it as cute instead of stupid. It’s when you try your _absolute best_ to cook when they’re sick.

It’s signing up for a relationship with someone who knows you at your best and has seen you at your worst. It’s when despite knowing each others’ worst fears and deepest secrets, you decide to stick together. It’s when you trust each other _no matter what_. They’re your ride or die. They’re the reason you’re the way you are, because they’re such an important part of you and your life that you can’t imagine your life without them.

Hell, you’re not sure you’d even make it without them.

Being in love with your best friend is like wanting to hold their hand even when your hands are sweaty or the grip is weird. It’s when you force yourself to watch Sharknado for the third time because you know they love it. It’s when you want to make sure they’re eating right even if it means texting them and annoying them into sending proof. It’s when you want to hold their hand and declare to the world that they’re your person. It’s when they drool when they’re sleeping, and your first thought isn’t taking an ugly picture of them, but to worry about how exhausted they are for this to be happening in the first place.

Being in love is having a breakdown because of how you can’t deal with all of these emotions and it's how you’re going to go absolutely feral if you see that mole on the back of their neck and have to contain the urge to kiss it. It’s wanting to lean over mid-conversation and kiss them or tell them how they make you feel and not feel like they're going to judge you for it.

It’s wanting all of this and so, _so_ much more, but being terrified of losing it all.

Because Sicheng knows that he could lose Jaehyun if things don’t go right. Of course, he knows that he wouldn’t just _abandon_ him, but Sicheng knows that things will change. It’ll start with the little things. He’ll be gentler. More delicate. And Sicheng will be able to feel the difference. How it’s not the same anymore. And how it feels stressed. Or forced. So he’ll ask to stop hanging out so often, because he doesn't want to make Jaehyun feel uncomfortable.

And that’s when it _really_ happens.

They stop meeting all the time, and when they do it’s strained. It’s so odd that they start messing up the dynamic of their group, so they’d have to either pick sides or pick days on which to meet one of them without the other. So eventually, he wouldn’t see Jaehyun at all.

So they become strangers. They’ll throw away seven years of friendship down the drain because of this.

Sicheng sits up, something tight in his chest.

Yeah, **no**.

No way in hell is he letting that happen. Because at the end of the day, he's been friends with Jaehyun for almost seven years. They’ve been through Some Shit™. They’ve been through language barriers, school changes, boyfriend and girlfriend troubles. They’ve been through hagwon and placement exams, and university applications and acceptance letters. They’ve been through bad breakups and the fucking – The Han Mina incident and so many other things.

They’ve been there for each other no matter what. So what makes him think that he and Jaehyun won’t make it through this?

And with all of this in mind; with the possibilities and the fears and the worst possible outcomes, Sicheng didn’t once dare to think of the best possible outcome; that in some strange, magical way, Jaehyun might be willing to try this with him. Maybe Jaehyun will let him poke his dimples or kiss his stupid bread cheeks. Maybe it’ll work out.

It’s this hope that tightens Sicheng’s chest, and he reaches for his phone, his fingers shaking as he opens up a text to Jaehyun. 

 **sicheng:** i don’t know what’s wrong with me,  
 **sicheng:** and i promise i’m not drunk,  
 **sicheng:** but i’m going to go tell my crush i’m in love with him.  
 **sicheng:** i don’t know what’ll happen.  
 **sicheng:** maybe he’ll hate me or he’ll reject me or whatever, but i need to tell him.  
 **sicheng:** like, right now.

Heart thundering in his chest, Sicheng watches the typing indicator pop up almost instantaneously.

 **class rep jung jaehyun** : WHAT!!!  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : oh mt god!!!  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : u can do it!!!  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : good luck!!!!!!!  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : i believe in u!!!!!  
 **class rep jung jaehyun** : tell me what happens!!!!!!!!! 

There’s something infectious about Jaehyun’s enthusiasm, and Sicheng can feel it filling him up.

 **sicheng:** you’ll be the first to know.

He hits send, and tosses his phone away from his bed. He then proceeds to grab a pillow and screams into it. After giving himself a few moments to calm down as much as he can at a time like this, he gets up and heads to his closet, pulling out a clean shirt, his jeans, and his black jacket.  

Twenty minutes, and an embarrassing attempt at a pep talk later, Sicheng’s on his way to Jaehyun’s apartment, heart hammering in his chest. He debates picking up roses or chocolate, but it doesn’t feel right. Not for them.

It’s not like them to go just through the motions. And it’s not exactly a thing, but Sicheng feels like a lot of the times, when people give each other flowers or chocolate or whatever else, it’s really to act as a security blanket. A buffer. For a situation that they both, desperately want and don’t want. Sicheng gets that, of course, but it doesn’t feel like it would be appropriate, in a way, for them.

Because at the end of the day, Sicheng smiles, turning the corner to his street, it’s Jaehyun. It’s his best friend. It’s his home. It’s safety and security and warmth and it’s bad jokes and stupid memes at four in the morning and it’s buying each other coffee when there’s a big paper due and it’s... it’s _Jaehyun._ His heart feels full, and honestly, it feels like the sheer volume of what he feels for Jaehyun’s going to overflow out of his body and pour into the streets. He dials the code for Jaehyun’s building and heads straight inside and up the stairs. There’s a moment before he feels like he’s going to choke on his nerves, but the thought of it being Jaehyun on the other side pushes it back down.

He rings the doorbell.

“Hold on!” Jaehyun’s voice is muffled on the other side of the door and Sicheng waits with bated breath, and the door opens.

Sicheng’s stomach drops.

Jaehyun’s eyes are rimmed red, and the edges of his lips are curved downwards. He’s wearing his ‘I’m Sad, Don’t Touch Me’ hoodie, and has a blanket wrapped around himself. His nose is red and he’s sniffing.

“You’re not the delivery guy,” Jaehyun mutters, subconsciously moving aside to let Sicheng in.

“No, I’m not,” he replies, toeing his shoes off and walking inside. He looks around the apartment and there’s a panicky sensation rising in the depths of his chest, and it has nothing to do with his impending confession. The TV was frozen halfway through ‘Monsters Inc.’ and there’s a half-eaten packet of gummy worms laying on the sofa.

“What happened?” He says, spinning to look at Jaehyun, who’s cheeks are suspiciously drier than they were a moment ago. “Is everything okay? Did someone say anything? Was it Professor Byun?”

Jaehyun shakes his head, and there’s a forced smile on his face. “It’s fine! Nothing happened! Don’t worry,” he says, waving his hand. He takes a hold of Sicheng’s arm and guides him towards the sofa and pulls him down. “But you’re here! Does that mean you did it?”

“What?”

What the hell is he talking about?

“How did it go? What did he say? Are you dating now?” Jaehyun asks, and there’s an odd look on his face, but Sicheng doesn’t really register it when all he can think about right now is the fact that his best friend had been crying, and he refuses to tell him why.

 _“_ No _,”_ he says firmly, smacking Jaehyun on the arm lightly, “don’t try and change the topic!” His eyes are narrowed. “Who made you cry?”

“No one! It’s _fine!”_ Jaehyun wipes his eyes again and blinks furiously a few times. “See, nothing– Now tell me!”

Sicheng rolls his eyes. “Right, and you’re holding your Sad Blanket and wearing your Sad Clothes and watching your Sad Movie and eating your Sad Gummies, and looking like you’ve been crying for the past hour, and for _what?”_

“Sicheng, drop it.” Jaehyun says with a forced laugh.

 _“No!”_ He stands up and takes a few steps back to look at him. “Look at you!” He says, gesturing to all of Jaehyun, “You look like a mess– just talk to me, Jaehyun,” he says softly. “What happened?”

“I’m fine, Sicheng, just let it go.”

“Right, sure, mhhm,” he agrees sardonically, rolling his eyes, “sure, Elsa,”

The irritation on Jaehyun’s face is visible now. “Just _let. It. Go._ ”

“No! Just tell me what’s happened?”

“Why–” Jaehyun sighs, frustrated, standing up, “why are you even here? Weren’t you going to go and have the feelings talk?”

“Well, I’m here, but you’ve spent the past hour _crying,_ so that’s more concerning to me, to be honest!” The words are loud and fast and he sighs dramatically before he registers the words that left his mouth.

He freezes.

Fuck.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Not that he had anything planned, but this just sounds like an accusation. He doesn’t regret it – of course not – but he really didn’t want it to come out like this. Especially when Jaehyun’s been crying over something.

“What.” Jaehyun’s voice is flat.

“What?” Sicheng panics. “What? Nothing, haha. Autocorrect.”

Jaehyun’s staring at him, his eyes wide. “Sicheng.” His voice is weird again.

“It...” Sicheng starts, ready to try and deny it again, but if he’s come this far, he might as well do it all the way, right? “I wasn’t going to say anything, especially not _now,_ because you’re literally _crying_ about something and...” He clears his throat, and laces his fingers together and twists them, trying to stop them from shaking. “I... I didn’t really have a speech planned, but,” he says, pointedly not looking at Jaehyun, “but I can promise you that yelling wasn’t in the plan an–”

“Sicheng, _what the fuck_ are you talking about?” Jaehyun sounds like he’s on the verge of tears.

“What do you mean what am I talking about?”

“Don’t,” Jaehyun’s voice is shaky as he points a finger at Sicheng, “Don’t use me as some...” he shudders in a breath, “as some kind of test subject. Just,” his eyes are watery. “Just don’t.”

“Jaehyun,” Sicheng gets the feeling that they’re not having the same conversation at all.

“Just...” Jaehyun interrupts as he wipes his cheeks with his Sad Blanket. “Just– Ignore me,” he ways, waving his hand nonchalantly, with a forced smile, “Go tell him. You’re going to be fine. You don’t need to practice. And... I’m sorry I’m not the most supportive person right now. I just–” He breaks off, and takes in a deep breath and looks at him. “I’ll be okay. Just go, tell him, okay?”

The fact that Jaehyun thought Sicheng would use him to practice confessing to his ‘real’ crush hurts. A lot.

“I already practised,” he replies instead, looking straight at Jaehyun. “At home. In the mirror. I wasn’t practising.”

Jaehyun blinks. “Then... what you said before was... was to–”

“Yeah, dumbass,” he says, his heart in his throat. “I told you I was going to tell him and then I came straight here. Because he lives here,” he continues softly. “Because he’s standing in front of me, crying. And– that’s–” Sicheng lets out a small hysterical laugh, “that’s really not sending the best message right now– Jaehyun,” he steps closer, “please say something.”

Jaehyun sniffs and stares at him, eyes wide.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Jaehyun reaches out for him. Meeting him halfway has never felt easier. As soon as their palms touch, Jaehyun laces their fingers together. “This... is real?” He asks, still sniffing. Sicheng can see his chest heave with effort.

“I–” He blinks. “Unless those gummies were laced with something,” he says, stepping closer to Jaehyun, “I’m pretty sure this is real, yeah,” he finishes softly.

 _“Oh.”_ Jaehyun’s voice cracks.

Honestly, friendship, feelings, and all of that aside, Jung Jaehyun is the _ugliest_ crier Sicheng has ever seen.

His cheeks get blotchy, his nose turns to an almost alarming shade of red, and his eyes are closed shut even as fat globs of tears roll down his cheeks and snot begins to appear at the base of his nose. His shoulders start to shake and he sounds like he’s choking with the force of his sobs.

It’s honestly quite ridiculous.

Except, right now, all Sicheng can do is panic. Where usually he’d have tried to console Jaehyun or hug him or whatever else his emotionally stunted brain would have thought of, instead, he’s just standing there, not sure what he’s allowed to do. Which is a reasonable thought; after all, he just confessed to his best friend that he’s in love with him. That would probably change the dynamic of things a little bit, right? Which– they probably have already, to be honest. Especially with a reaction like this. And like, Sicheng knows he isn’t exactly the best person, but damn, is it really _that bad?_ For Jaehyun to just burst into tears at the thought of Sicheng in love with him? He hasn’t seen Jaehyun cry like this since his dog died like three years ago and honestly it’s more than a little hurtful that this is how he’d react.

But you know what, it’s _fine._

Not to Sicheng from a personal perspective, but in general; because Jaehyun is absolutely allowed to feel whatever he wants about the situation– and that includes the borderline hysterical crying– except that’s inconveniencing Sicheng a little because he’s not sure where he stands. Because even as he’s fully aware that this is a reaction to Sicheng telling Jaehyun that he’s in love with him– which, _ouch,_ that’s going to cause an insurmountable amount of scarring in the future– Sicheng’s just kind of standing there, his hand hovering in mid-air because he doesn’t know if he’s allowed to hug Jaehyun anymore. And god, that hurts.  

Except, he doesn’t really get a chance to think himself into a full panic because it’s then that Jaehyun uses their linked hands to yank him closer and wraps both his arms around his waist. Sighing, partly as force of habit, but mostly with relief, he hides a smile and hugs Jaehyun back, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and using the other one to rub at his back.

At least some things will remain the same, right?

And you know what? It’s _fine._ Not, like, _right now_ , but it will be. He’ll get over Jaehyun at some point. He’ll have Yuta and Ten and Kun and Taeil and Johnny and Taeyong and everyone with him, and maybe he’ll need to spend a month in China with his grandmother, but it’ll be fine. He’ll get over it. And at the end of it, Jung Jaehyun will still be his best friend.

It’ll be _fine._

Jaehyun’s hands tighten around his chest, his grip almost vicelike. He’s holding onto him like the word on the tip of his tongue that’s on the verge of disappearing. His face is pressed into the crook of Sicheng’s neck, and Sicheng can feel Jaehyun’s tears dampen his shirt. His heart thuds painfully as he rubs Jaehyun’s back softly.

The crying eventually slows down, even though Jaehyun’s grip around him doesn’t relax, and after a long, measured breath, he can hear Jaehyun’s voice. “Can’t believe this is–“

Jaehyun looks up at his eyes still red and puffy, tears still clinging to his lashes, “Can’t believe this is real,” he says, sniffing some of the snot back into his nose.

Sicheng can’t help the awkward laughter that makes it’s way out. “I know, haha,” he says, wincing at how awful that came out, “but you know what, it’s fine. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, you know? I can just... pretend it didn’t happen.”  

He knows he’s said the wrong thing, because Jaehyun’s grip tightens around him, and his voice cracks, “What?”

“I mean, you started _crying?”_ Sicheng says, watching as Jaehyun pulls one arm away and wipes his face and nose, sniffing, “and,” he continues, “like, I don’t want you to force yourself or pretend or anything, you know?”

Jaehyun pauses and blinks.

“Okay, fair,” he says, nodding as he sniffs again. “I see how you would take that as a bad reaction but,” there’s a smile on Jaehyun’s face, and the only word Sicheng can think of to describe it is ‘elated’. He continues, “to be honest,” he swallows, now wiping his face with the Sad Blanket, “the boy that I’ve been in love with for literal years coming to my house and telling me he’s in love with me," he says, and uh, what? _"after_ I’d resigned myself into being the supportive best friend was,” he laughs, and the sound is hysterical, “uhh, overwhelming, to say the least.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Hold the fuck up,” he says. “Years?” He asks, and then blinks again, something rising in his chest. “Wait,” he says again, as his brain finally finishes processing the rest of Jaehyun’s speech. “You _love_ me?”

Jaehyun laughs, and the sound is so impossibly fond that Sicheng doesn’t quite know what to do with himself. “Yeah,” he says softly, “I’ve been in love with your dumb ass since the day you made that joke and got us kicked out of Mrs Kwon’s class.”

He blinks. “The dick joke?”

“Yeah...”

Sicheng blinks again. “Wasn’t that the third year of high school?”

“It was,” Jaehyun replies simply. They met during the second year of high school.

“Oh.” Sicheng blinks, and then a thought occurs. “Hey, why were you crying? Like, before I came?“ He pauses. “I know this is wildly out of context, but I feel like that’s a conversation we need to have, otherwise I won’t stop worrying about it.”

“I was crying because I thought that the person I’m in love with was on his way to go confess to the person he’s in love with. Except... you’re here.” Jaehyun says softly. “With me.”

“I mean,” Sicheng starts with a small laugh, something loosening in his chest, “I told you the guy I like is stupid.“

This close to Jaehyun, Sicheng can feel the breath of Jaehyun’s laughter. He’s suddenly conscious of his heartbeat in his ears, because Jaehyun’s face is a lot closer to his than it was a moment ago, and he’s pretty sure he’s the only one who moved. He then reaches for Jaehyun’s ‘Don’t Touch Me, I’m Sad’ hoodie, and uses it to pull Jaehyun closer still.

He doesn’t do much other than stare. He just lets his eyes trace over Jaehyun’s face. His eyes, red and swollen, but still so warm, and full of love. His nose, also quite red, but for some reason, still cute. His cheeks, splotchy, but puffed out and those fucking dimples, peeking out, set on ruining Sicheng’s life. His gaze then falls to Jaehyun’s lips.

“Can I kiss you?”

Jaehyun’s small nod is all he needs before he’s reaching up to cradle Jaehyun’s face, guiding him in for a soft kiss. It’s only a gentle press of their lips, but it’s like coming home. There are no fireworks or exploding stars. The kiss feels like safety. Like warmth and familiarity all in one. Sicheng’s other arm snakes around Jaehyun’s waist and pulls him as close as he can. Now that he has this, he doesn’t ever want to let go. Jaehyun’s hand touches his cheek, and he leans into it, sighing happily into the kiss. He can feel Jaehyun smiling against his lips, and he smiles back.

Sicheng pulls back just slightly, and exhales against Jaehyun’s lips. Their foreheads resting together, he can’t help the exhilarated giggle that escapes his lips.  

“Hey, Jaehyun?” he says breathlessly.

“Hmm?”

“I love you,”

Jaehyun’s eyes snap open, and he pulls his head back to look at Sicheng. “Say it again?” He sounds breathless.

“I love you.”

“Again?”

Sicheng smiles, even as his heart aches with the thought of how long Jaehyun must have wanted him to say these words. “I love you, Jung Jaehyun,” he says softly, placing a chaste kiss on Jaehyun’s lips. “So much.”

Letting out a wounded sound, Jaehyun pulls him in for a kiss. “I love you,” he says, peppering his cheeks, nose, forehead with kisses. “Love you too. So much. So much.”

Their kisses eventually just turn into nothing as Sicheng buries his face in the crook of Jaehyun’s neck, closing his eyes and sighing happily. He never really considered  _this_ as an outcome to this situation. It was either that Jaehyun would sort of be okay with it and they’d try being in a relationship, or that Jaehyun would outright reject him and Sicheng would have to fight to keep their friendship together, or something equally horrible. But this? Having Jaehyun love him back? It’s like he’s in a movie overrun by cliches.

Except, some of his favourite movies are teeming with cliches, and if they mean that everyone gets a happy ending... maybe they’re not so bad after all.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“No, no, no, no,” Doyoung says, holding his hand out. “You’re telling me,” he starts again, “that _you,”_ he points at Sicheng, “woke up at _six in the morning_ to go to a park, because he,” he points at Jaehyun, “said he wanted to go?”

“Mhhm,” Sicheng’s voice is muffled. He’s got his arms around the world’s best boy, and the bottom half of his face is pressed in the back of Jaehyun’s shirt.

“Didn’t Sicheng sleep through the fire alarm once?” Johnny asks, playing with Ten’s hair. “Didn’t you sleep through a fire alarm?” Johnny looks at Sicheng.

“Okay, that was two years ago,” Sicheng replies, tilting his face slightly so that they can hear him, “and honestly I was just going through a rough patch,” he shrugs.

Ten laughs, “you know what,” he says, straightening up in Johnny’s arms, “that’s _so_ valid.” Ten ignores Taeil’s smack.

“Thank you,” Sicheng hides a grin in Jaehyun’s shirt as Jaehyun’s hand comes up to comb through his hair.

 _“Anyway,”_ Yuta interrupts loudly, “So you went to the spring market at Yangjae, where Sicheng bought you a flower crown,” he ticks off on his fingers, “made you wear it, called you a _pretty fairy prince_ ,” his voice goes higher in pitch, “and you _still didn’t get it_?”

“Yuta, Sicheng called him ‘baby’ in public.” Taeyong points out, “Even I don’t call hyung ‘baby’ in public.”

“That’s because you’re weak and natural selection will come for you,” Ten states, nodding firmly.

“Yeah, but at least I’m not as dumb as Jaehyun, right?” Taeyong grins.

Sicheng can feel Jaehyun squirm on his lap and even without looking, he knows that the tips of Jaehyun’s ears are red. Fighting his grin, he rubs his hand on Jaehyun’s stomach, placing a soft kiss on the back of his shoulder.

“Listen!” Jaehyun says, a little louder than necessary. “Even the _thought_ that he liked me was so beyond my imagination that I didn’t even consider it!” Jaehyun says, “ _and!_ ” He exclaims, jumping slightly, “and, he said that the guy he liked wasn’t out! I’ve been out since the first year of university!”

“I’m pretty sure that was a lie, Jaehyun,” Taeil says softly, patting him.

“Yeah, it’s not like he’s going to flirt with you and call you _pretty_ and _baby_ and make it obvious that he likes you, you know?” Taeyong adds, grinning.

“See,” Sicheng laughs, watching as Jaehyun reaches over to smack Taeyong, “when I told you that he’s stupid...” he trails off, quickly pressing a kiss to Jaehyun’s cheek when he turns to him in indignation.

“Jung Jaehyun!” The voice is louder than the otherwise noisy din of the cafe. Sicheng turns to see Jungkook storming up to the table, his eyebrows furrowed and a frown on his lips. Sicheng watches him, and he can pinpoint the exact moment when Jungkook registers where Jaehyun’s sitting. Jungkook’s steps just falter midway. His eyes are wide, and his lips are making a small ‘o’ shape. He makes brief eye contact with Sicheng, who raises his hand in a little wave. Jungkook blinks, and then holds up a finger, the universal sign for ‘wait’, and then turns back around and heads straight to the counter.

“Do... you want to explain that?” Sicheng asks quietly, nudging him. The others didn’t seem to notice the shout, and have dissolved into their own conversations.

Jaehyun shifts so that he’s sitting sideways on Sicheng’s lap, and Sicheng can tell he adjusts his weight so that most of it is on the chair and not on him. It’s sweet. “He’s going to show up here and embarrass me anyway,” he pouts.

Sicheng wants to lean over and kiss that pout away. So he does.

“I’m pretty sure it can’t be worse than the time you tried to steal my parents’ neighbours c–”

“Yeah, not talking about that,” Jaehyun quickly says, putting his hand on Sicheng’s mouth. “Never reliving that. And... yeah, it’s probably not nearly _as_ embarrassing, but you know...” Jaehyun shrugs.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Jungkook’s voice carries over to them, and Sicheng can see the rest of their table pause to pay attention.

Jaehyun grins and drops his hand from Sicheng’s mouth. “Hey, Kook.”

Jungkook opens his mouth and then closes it, as if he’s reconsidered something. “You know what, I’m not dealing with you right now,” he says to Jaehyun, and then pointedly ignores him and turns to Sicheng instead, “last I checked, your favourite was the hazelnut vanilla mocha, right?” He holds out a cup that smells suspiciously like the aforementioned drink.

Hesitantly, he nods, and then pauses, “Yeah, but I... didn’t order it?” He says.

“Yeah, I know, but take it anyway.” Jungkook says, “it’s on me... as thanks.”

Sicheng takes the drink slowly. “Uhhh, for... why?”

“For taking one for the team and finally dating his dumb ass,” Jungkook says with a grin.

There’s a snort of laughter, and Sicheng is ninety percent sure that it was Johnny.

“Hey!” Jaehyun interjects, “why did you assume _he_ did anything? For all you know, _I_ could have been the one who asked him out!”

Jungkook stares at Jaehyun with dead eyes as he begins to reach in his pocket. He pulls out his phone and holds it out. “You say that like we haven’t been in a group chat together for three years. Do you _want_ me to read out your texts?”

“There’s no need for that, it’s fine,” Jaehyun says hurriedly, and the fear in his voice is real.

“What group chat?” Sicheng asks, grinning as he hooks his chin over Jaehyun’s shoulder. “Does he talk about me? What did he say?”

“Oh, he doesn’t shut up about you,” Jungkook says, with gleeful laughter. “Sicheng this, and Sicheng that. All the time.” He laughs, pocketing his phone. “A few days ago, he screamed in the group chat for like ten minutes, and then vanished. We almost thought he died,”

“Was this Tuesday?” Sicheng asks.

“Yup,” Jungkook nods. “Pretty sure that was the day this,” he gestures to the way they’re sitting, “happened...”

“Mhhm,” Sicheng nods. “Did he tell you what happened?”

“Nope,” Jungkook pops the p, “he hasn’t been active since he told us he was going to cry in his ice-cream because you were in love with someone else,” he says, “on Tuesday.” He grins and rocks his feet, “this is amazing, I’m _so_ glad you’re dating. I can finally pay him back for the shit he told Jimin and Tae when we started dating!” He says and cackles. “Did you know he had an aneurysm when you borrowed his shirt and wore it to class?”

Sicheng’s eyes widen and he stares at Jaehyun. His boyfriend shrinks into himself, face burning red, and buries his face in Sicheng’s neck. “This is my own fault,” Sicheng can feel him mumble. “I did this to myself. Past Jaehyun was an asshole.”

“Yeah,” Sicheng replies, “but past Jaehyun didn’t figure out that I was in love with him, so he’s an idiot too. It’s okay,” Sicheng consoles him softly. “Past Jaehyun was lacking in a lot of ways. You’ll make up for them now.”

He looks back up and Jungkook’s watching them with a smile that’s somewhere between fond and disgusted. “You know what,” he starts, “As gross as this is, and as much as I know he’s going to be insufferable now...” he continues, “I’m glad this is a thing – because you know... he’s a good guy. Like, a dumbass, but a good guy... so yeah. Thanks for loving him back.” Jungkook says awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck and pointedly not making eye contact with anyone at the table.

Behind him, Sicheng can hear Yuta trying to control someone’s screaming, and he knows that Taeyong’s ‘aww’-ed softly.

Jaehyun’s staring at Jungkook and he jumps out of Sicheng’s hold and attacks him in a hug. “Awwwww, Kookie!” He says grinning. “You love me!”

With a put upon eyeroll, he hugs Jaehyun back. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Stepping away quickly though, he points vaguely behind him. “I’m gonna go now,” he says, smiling at them. “See you,” he says.

“Hey, Jungkook,” Sicheng calls him.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for being his friend,” he says, making a small noise as Jaehyun settles back on him, throwing his legs on the empty seat opposite him.

“Anytime,” Jungkook calls back, and gives him a two-fingered salute. He looks cool for about two seconds before he bumps into a waiter and starts apologising profusely.

Sicheng laughs to himself, wrapping his arms around Jaehyun’s waist, settling in properly, and turns back to the table. Everyone’s staring at them.

“He’s cute,” Doyoung comments, breaking the silence.

“Kinda looks like a bunny, you know? With those teeth and the big round eyes,” Johnny says. Ten smacks him.

 _“Cute?_ Did you _see_ those _thighs?”_ Yuta exclaims.

“Right, so this is you telling me I need to go to the gym or?” Doyoung narrows his eyes, looking at Yuta.

“So,” Ten interrupts, and thankfully so, “why did that feel like approval from Jaehyun’s dad?”

Sicheng snorts and dissolves into laughter, “please,” he says, leaning his cheek against Jaehyun’s shoulder. “Jaehyun’s dad loves me more than he loves Jaehyun anyway.”

Jaehyun turns to him and opens his mouth before closing it again. “You know what, you’re right. But your mom loves me, so there’s that.”

“Well, my mom loves everyone. That doesn't make you special,” Sicheng rolls his eyes.

Jaehyun raises an eyebrow.

Sicheng huffs a laugh. “Okay, maybe a little special.”

“You love me, so that’s all the special I need,” Jaehyun says, grinning.

Their table screeches in sync.

“Did he just say that? Did he just say that?” Ten makes vomit sounds.

“That’s disgusting! We are in _public_!” Doyoung says, sounding horrified, as if he and his boyfriend haven’t been banned from multiple public places for indecency.

“Did anyone record that? I’m going to show it to them the next time they call us sappy,” Taeil says, seriously.

Sicheng leans in and kisses Jaehyun softly, making a point to ignore all of his demon friends. –demon friends that he wouldn’t trade for anything in the world, but people that quite often, live up to their demon status.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Chan lets out an obnoxious groan as he slumps over the desk. “I’m going to _die,”_ he whines, closing his eyes.

“There, there,” Jihyo pats him, but she too, looks absolutely exhausted.

“Isn’t she like seventy years old?” Lisa asks, “can she just retire?”

“Or die!” Chan says, and Haseul smacks him repeatedly.

“Stop that!” Haseul whisper-shrieks.

“I mean, she _is_ old, right?” Minghao says dryly.

“I’m pretty sure this amount of work is inhumane, but _maybe_ death isn’t the answer?” Sicheng tries, but the words sound fake, even to him.

Lisa sighs, and looks at them again. “Rosie has the answers,” she points out, for the nth time today. “Do you want me to ask her to send them to me?”

They all look at Jihyo. She looks at them, her lips in a stubborn pout. “If we get the answers from her then we won’t know how to do the assignment on our own!”

Sicheng stares at her. They’ve been in the library for close to three hours, and not even twenty percent of the way through. He’s _tired._ They’re all tired. And honestly, Sicheng has more important things to be doing. He’s pretty sure they _all_ have more important things to be doing. All of them agree that they’re stuck and need a little help. Except for Jihyo.

“It’s not like you need to just _copy_ her answer,” Sicheng says, sighing. “We can just... use her pointers and then do the rest on our own?”

“But that’s not the same!” Jihyo says, sadly. It’s cute that she takes her assignments seriously, but this is really not the time.

“Yeah, I understand that,” Haseul says, placing a hand on Jihyo’s arm, “but look at Chan,” she points to him. Chan immediately makes a pathetic expression on his face. “He’s going to die,” she continues seriously.

Minghao snorts from beside him.

Jihyo stares at him. Minghao stares back.

“Can you guys hurry up?” Sicheng asks finally.

“Yeah, yeah, you probably have a bro-date with Jaehyun,” Lisa mutters with only a slight hint of bitterness. Sicheng doesn’t correct her.

There’s a loud whining sound and then a thump. Jihyo’s head is now laying face down in her book and she whines again, loudly, before she speaks, her voice muffled. “Fine. Ask her for help.”

Sicheng looks at the rest of the table and grins when Chan and Haseul clutch each other and pretend to cry dramatically.

“Oh thank god,” Lisa says with a smile, tapping on her phone at a furious speed.

Apparently, Rosie must have known that they’d eventually give in, because her assignment is emailed to them in record time. The next hour is eighty percent more productive than the last three combined. Since this isn’t a group assignment, for the most part, they’re all working in silence. Occasionally one of them would post a question to the group, and one or more of them would pitch in to answer. Of course, their questions can easily get out of hand; all it takes is one untimely comment; it takes about ten minutes for them to get back on track. Once their assignments are about seventy percent done, a wave of laziness takes over, and they spend the next twenty minutes just talking under the pretence of finishing up.

Sicheng’s phone chimes with Jaehyun’s tone, and he smiles as he picks it up.

 

 **perfect boyfriend jung jaehyun** : r u w/ur stdy grp?

 **sicheng:** mhhm

 **perfect boyfriend jung jaehyun** : im omw to gt u.

 **sicheng** : mwah~

 

Sicheng grins and puts away his phone.

“So, I’ll finish up the rest of the assignment later,” he says, starting to pack up, “I have a–”

“ _A bro date with Jaehyun tonight,_ ” the five of them say in perfect sync before dissolving into laughter. It’s almost as if they practice saying it together. Honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if they did. He rolls his eyes and zips his bag up as he stands. Where usually he’d correct them, this time, he just grins.

“Actually,” He says, “it’s a real date this time.”

“What, with Jung Jaehyun?” Lisa demands, her eyes wide.

Sicheng doesn’t say anything, and pointedly ignores the furious whispered discussion on the table. He’s too busy being distracted by the sight of Jaehyun walking towards him. Jaehyun grins at him, and Sicheng smiles back, hooking his bag on his shoulder. Honestly, it’s a little (a lot) unfair how soft and cuddly Jaehyun looks in that sweater.

Sicheng’s gonna steal it.

“Hey guys,” Jaehyun smiles at the table as he comes to a stop beside him.

“Hey baby,” Sicheng greets him softly, taking his hand lacing their fingers together, leaning in to place a kiss on his stupid dimple.

The screams that follow are absolutely inappropriate for a library.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The only thing that’s really changed now that they’ve started dating is the kissing. There’s lots of it.

“Wait, wait,” Sicheng says, gasping for breath as he pulls away and settles back on Jaehyun’s lap.

“What?” Jaehyun asks, pressing his nose against the column of Sicheng’s neck and placing soft kisses there. Sicheng can’t help it as he closes his eyes at the feeling of Jaehyun’s lips against his skin. He lets out a small whine and tilts his neck for better access. Jaehyun needs to stop this before things get really out of hand.

“Can we– stop distracting me,“ Sicheng gasps, pushing lightly at Jaehyun’s shoulder. “C– can we still call this movie night,” he makes a small sound “if we’re making out for most of it?”

“I mean,” Jaehyun pauses at the question, and pulls back to look Sicheng in the eyes. And god fucking damn, he looks so good. His eyes are blown wide, and his hair’s messy from where Sicheng was running his hands through it. His lips are swollen, and his skin is flushed pink, and he looks like absolute sin. “The movie  _is_ playing,” he continues weakly.

Sicheng’s taken this opportunity to lean in and start trailing a line of kisses down Jaehyun’s neck. “What movie is it again?” Sicheng asks teasingly. Neither of them paid enough attention to see the opening credits. His hands find their way back around Jaehyun’s shoulders and he giggles softly as he bites at Jaehyun’s ear, effectively distracting him from anything he was thinking.

“S–Stop it!” Jaehyun says, smacking Sicheng’s ass. Sicheng yelps and smacks Jaehyun’s chest in return.

“Answer me,” he pouts.

“What?” Jaehyun blinks, and it finally seems like he’s focused again.

“Can we still call this ‘Bro Movie Night’ if we spend most of it making out?”

“I mean, I guess?” Jaehyun says, his hands idly tracing patterns on Sicheng’s waist.

“What do you mean, _‘I guess’_? How am I still in the ‘bro’ category? I've had your tongue down my throat!”

Jaehyun laughs. “I mean, you’re always going to be my bro...“ he says, shrugging. “You’re always going to be my best friend,”

“I am, aren’t I?” Sicheng says with a little grin, satisfied.

“Bros before hoes, bro,” Jaehyun says in a faux deep voice, and Sicheng grins.

“So what, I’m your bro and your hoe?”

Jaehyun snorts. “I mean, if the shoe fits...”

Sicheng smacks his chest with a laugh, and then cups his face and guides him up for a kiss. Every kiss with Jaehyun feels as precious as their last. It doesn’t take more than a couple of seconds for their kiss to pick up the heat from before. Feeling a little dazed, Sicheng shifts and cards his fingers through the hair at the base of Jaehyun’s neck, humming into the kiss. Jaehyun’s hands come up to cradle his face, and Sicheng leans into his touch, unashamed. He can feel Jaehyun’s thumb caress his cheekbone and he makes a small sound.

“Bro,” Jaehyun says, pulling away after a moment, a smile on his face.

“Bro,”

“Tell the world we’re bros,“ Jaehyun’s giggling, and the sound is so sweet.

“We're bros, bro,” Sicheng whispers, a wide grin on his face.

“Why’d you whisper, bro?”

“Because you’re my whole world, bro,” Sicheng says, giggling, even as he pulls Jaehyun down for a kiss. Jaehyun’s laughing against his lips, and the feeling is indescribable. Sometimes, when Jaehyun laughs, Sicheng feels that he might explode with the force of what he feels for Jaehyun. Like his body is too small to hold the love that someone like Jung Jaehyun deserves.

Jaehyun’s breathing is slightly laboured, when he pulls away and looks into Sicheng’s eyes before saying, very carefully, _“bro.”_

**Author's Note:**

> come talk to me on [ twitter](https://twitter.com/tiredlysighing) or on [ cc](https://curiouscat.me/tiredlysighing)!


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